La Ronde (1950)

Directed by Max Ophüls. Starring Anton Walbrook, Simone Signoret, Serge Reggiani, Simone Simon, Daniel Gélin, Danielle Darrieux, Fernand Gravey, Odette Joyeux, Jean-Louis Barrault, Isa Miranda, Gérard Philipe.

A fluffy puff pastry baked from a chain of romantic encounters among ten individuals of various classes and occupations in Vienna at the turn of the century, which eventually comes full circle back to the original subject (hence the title). Witty and cozy, shot in attractive settings with voyeuristic camera positions and angles, its knowing artificiality keeps the viewer at too much of a distance (it’s never as enjoyable to remotely observe amorous adventures as it is to live vicariously through them), and as expected for any story composed of a series of vignettes, the bountifully-lit delights tend to wax and wane periodically. Whenever the flowing camera ceases to be the star (which isn’t often), it’s Walbrook’s wicked ringmaster that holds it all together, a savvy character addition to Arthur Schnitzler’s original play as implemented by scenarists Ophüls and Jacques Natanson. Roger Vadim filmed his own version of the same play in 1964.

79/100