A lovely shadow
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | A lovely shadow |
| Original title | Follow Me! |
| Country of production | United Kingdom |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1972 |
| length | 93 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Carol Reed |
| script | Peter Shaffer |
| production | Hal B. Wallis |
| music | John Barry |
| camera | Christopher Challis |
| cut | Anne V. Coates |
| occupation | |
| |
A Lovable Shadow is a 1971 British feature film directed by Carol Reed , the last of which was this theatrical production. The main roles are Mia Farrow as a young wife and Topol as her "lovable" shadow. Screenwriter Peter Shaffer also provided the novel The Public Eye . The strip was also sold under this title in the USA.
action
London, early 1970s. The correct and a little boring tax advisor Charles is married to the funky American Belinda. It is precisely because he is so dust-dry that he trusts his unconventional wife to cheat in his absence. Charles then hires the private detective Julian, a curly-headed man of Greek origin who has more than just one quirk: he should, according to Charles, become Belinda's invisible shadow, follow her every step of the way to collect evidence of an amorous infidelity. But Belinda is loyal and spends her lonely hours without the busy husband of the gods in the cinema, watching horror films, visiting dolphin aquariums, city parks or greenhouses. Julian remains Belinda's silent shadow for ten days, which she gradually notices without ever speaking to her.
She, too, is gradually taking an affection for this bizarre, human burdock. Soon the two are inseparable companions, and Julian joins Belinda's ventures. You go to the cinema together, have picnics and go on boat trips. Julian's affection is expressed in gestures and looks, never in lewdness or verbal platitudes. Both are happy with this unspoken arrangement, and Belinda finally feels that she is being respected again after a long time. Finally, the moment is approaching when Julian has to give his client an account. He advises Belinda to get closer to her husband again, to turn to him more intensely and to ask him to join her explorations of the city from now on in order to save what is frozen in everyday boredom and monotony. Julian, in turn, “confesses” to Charles the lie that he assumed the other man in Belinda's life to be, which in a certain, if not necessarily adulterous sense, corresponds to the truth.
Production notes
A lovable shadow was shown for the first time in July 1972 in both the USA and Germany.
The film structures were designed by Terence Marsh , the costumes by Julie Harris .
Awards
At the San Sebastian Film Festival, both Mia Farrow and Topol received awards in the “Best Actor” category.
Reviews
The Movie & Video Guide said, "Farrow is good, but Topol's grin really flashes too often."
Halliwell's Film Guide saw the film as "a cumbersome, quirky rendition of a cumbersome, quirky one-act play that never comes to life or arouses interest."
"Director Carol Reed (" The Third Man ") has obtained a comedy film from the US Boulevard Theater that is so distinctive and sweet that the audience doesn't have to worry about amusement for two thirds of the film."
The film's large personal lexicon attested the "peculiar, unconventional (n) love story ... approaches of humor and charm."
“Slightly sentimental, but humorous and understanding lesson about interpersonal relationships; also formally remarkable. "
Web links
- A lovely shade in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- A lovely shadow on allmovie.com
Individual evidence
- ^ Leonard Maltin : Movie & Video Guide, 1996 edition, p. 1048
- ^ Leslie Halliwell : Halliwell's Film Guide, Seventh Edition, New York 1989, p. 361
- ↑ Kay Less : The large personal dictionary of films , Volume 6, p. 435. Berlin 2001
- ^ A lovable shadow in the lexicon of international film