The Lovers (1958 film)

The Lovers French Les amants is a 1958 French drama film directed by Louis Malle and starring Jeanne Moreau, Alain Cuny, and JeanMarc Bory. Based on the novel Point de Lendemain by Dominique Vivant, the film is about a woman involved in adultery who rediscovers human love. The Lovers was Malles second feature film, made when he wasyears old. The film was a box office hit in France when released theatrically gaining 2,594, admissions in France alone. The film was highly controversial for its depiction of allegedly obscene material when released in the United States. At the 1958 Venice Film Festival, the film won the Special Jury Prize and was nominated for the Golden Lion.

Jeannes constant talk of Maggy and Raoul leads to Henri demanding that Jeanne invite them to dinner and to stay as overnight guests. Jeannes car breaks down on the day of the dinner party, and she accepts a lift from a younger man, Bernard JeanMarc Bory, and then asks him to drive her home. By the time they get back, Maggy and Raoul have already arrived at the mansion. It transpires that Bernard, an archaeologist, is the son of a friend of Jeannes husband, and he too is added to the guest list. Jeanne spurns Raouls advances, claiming it is too dangerous, but she spends time in a small boat on the river with the attentive Bernard. Clandestinely, they spend the night together. In the morning, to the surprise of everyone, Jeanne leaves with Bernard for a new life.The film is important in American legal history as it resulted in a court case that questioned the definition of obscenity. A showing of the film in Cleveland Heights, Ohios Coventry Village resulted in a criminal conviction of the theatre manager for public depiction of obscene material. He appealed his conviction to the United States Supreme Court, which reversed the conviction and ruled that the film was not obscene in its written opinion Jacobellis v. Ohio. The case resulted in Justice Potter Stewarts famously subjective definition of hardcore pornography I know it when I see it. Stewart did not consider the film to be such. ........

Source: Wikipedia