Mississippi Mermaid (1969)

Mississippi Mermaid (La sirene du Mississippi)
Directed by Francois Truffaut
Written by Francois Truffaut based on a novel by Cornell Woolrich
1969/France
IMDb page
First viewing/Amazon Prime

Julie Roussel: I don’t see evil everywhere. It *is* everywhere.

Despite some gaping plot holes, I enjoyed Truffaut’s Hitchcock-influenced thriller.

Louis Mahe (Jean-Paul Belmondo) is a cigarette-factory owner on the remote tropical island of Reunion.  Louis strikes up a correspondence with Julie Roussel through the classified ads.  He decides to marry her sight-unseen.  He does have her picture and she appears to be a reasonably attractive brunette.  When he goes to pick up his intended from her ship, she turns out to be the blonde and exquisitely beautiful Catherine Deneuve. He is knocked off his feet and is easily convinced by her story of sending someone else’s picture.  They soon marry and Louis becomes an adoring husband.  He simply overlooks some of Julie’s odd behavior.

We spend most of the movie trying to work out what Julie’s game is.  The story has numerous twists and turns and I will not spoil it.

This was absolutely beautiful to look at.  I was engrossed in the mystery and suspense.  I expected the film to end with a big payoff revelation.  The ending let me down and I never did get some of my questions answered. I would still recommend the movie if the stars and director appeal.