A boring secret. Twenty-year-old Louise lives with her parents. Her father is an artist, but sells his paintings for nothing. According to him, no one appreciates him. Opposite their house in a luxury apartment on the ground floor settles a couple of Americans - Jess and Thelma. The pair immediately causes a mystery, because nothing is known about them, except that they are very wealthy. What's one Jess sports car worth? One day, Louise asks Jess to hire her as a maid. At first Jess refuses, but then he comes to her house and offers a job, and with a very solid salary. Louise moves in with the neighbors. She watches Thelma get drunk and as uncouth Americans come to visit them. In the end, she learns the secret of this couple.
The weakness of this film is precisely this mystery, which should shed light on the secluded lifestyle of Jess and Thelma and explain why they left America and moved to France. This mystery is very primitive and weak and is unlikely to justify the expectation of fans of intricate plots. Let's just say that it lies in the family plane. The acting is wonderful, the images are capacious and convex, but this focus of the director on the notorious mystery does not allow us to draw any conclusions from this picture that go beyond the primitive family history. The characters are perhaps well revealed, but they themselves are of little interest. Louise looks at the world with her eyes wide open, but she feels a kind of almost depressing isolation from life. Jess is mostly silent. His face does not express any emotion. Even when he forbids his wife to drink by snatching a bottle from her, he does so in his unfailing silent manner. Thelma is also verbose, although she knows how to watch herself and by the arrival of American friends appears in a luxurious outfit. In general, this film is devoid of any vital energy, it is permeated with melancholy even in those situations where one would expect a surge of emotions.
This work by Robert Ossein hides behind a spectacular title and at first promises some almost mystical mystery. But all this is allowed at the household level. This is almost disappointing. This, of course, high-quality film with classic distilled drama is pleasant to watch, looking at the faces of the actors, even if they do not express emotions, but a strong sense that the story could be stronger.
6 out of 10