Released in early 1962, Jules and Jim is one of the landmark films that defines the French New Wave of the late 50’s/early 60’s directed by perhaps its most iconic figure, Francois Truffaut. The title characters are the Austrian and French men who make up two-thirds of a love triangle set in Europe around the time of World War I. Jules is rather shy and introverted while Jim is more outgoing and amorously extroverted in their pursuit of the enigmatic Catherine both men fall for initially because of her resemblance to an ancient statue of a goddess. Jules and Jim was based on a novel by Henri-Pierre Roché and the actor who plays Jim was cast primarily on the basis of his resemblance to Roche. The film is notable for using a variety of non-traditional cinematic techniques like freeze-frames, still photos and transitional wipes.
The success of the film situated Jeanne Moreau (Catherine) as the emblematic feminine presence associated with the entire French New Wave. While the actor playing Jim went on to enjoy a long career in French films, Oskar Werner was able to translate his part as Jules into a short-lived term as one of the hottest international movie stars of the 1960’s.He would reunited four years later with Truffaut in the director’s English-language adaptation of Fahrenheit 451. In 1965, Werner would receive a Best Actor Oscar nomination for Ship of Fools and win a Golden Globe as Best Supporting Actor for The Spy Who Came in From the Cold.
