La sirene du Mississipi / Mississippi Mermaid - by Francois Truffaut (1969)

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La sirene du Mississipi / Mississippi Mermaid - by Francois Truffaut (1969)

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La sirène du Mississipi / Mississippi Mermaid - by Francois Truffaut (1969)

Louis Mahé (Jean-Paul Belmondo), a wealthy tobacco plantation owner on Réunion island in the Indian Ocean, is awaiting the arrival of his bride to be, Julie Roussel (Catherine Deneuve), whom he's never met. They became acquainted through the personals column of a French newspaper and have been corresponding by mail. At the Hotel Mascarin he meets his partner Jardine who accompanies him to pick up the ring. Louis drives to the dock to greet Julie who is arriving on the steamer Mississippi from Nouméa, the capital of New Caledonia. When they meet he is surprised by her beauty and does not recognize her; she is not the woman in the photo she'd sent him. She explains that she sent the photo of a neighbor to assure the sincerity of his intentions. He confesses that he too has not told the complete truth, having hidden the fact that he was wealthy.

Louis and Julie quickly marry, and his adoration of his new bride makes him overlook inconsistencies with what she wrote in her letters. He gives Julie access to his bank accounts and prints her image on the cigarette packs his company manufactures. After receiving an angry letter from Julie's sister, Berthe Roussel (Nelly Borgeaud), demanding to know the whereabouts of Julie, Louis returns home to find that Julie is gone, and that she's absconded with nearly 28 million francs, all but emptying his bank accounts. Soon after, Julie's sister Berthe arrives and informs him that the woman he married was not Julie, and that she saw her sister board the Mississippi. They hire a private detective, Comolli, to track down the impostor and bring her to justice.

On a flight to Nice, France, Louis suddenly collapses from exhaustion. While recuperating in the Clinique Heurtebise sanitarium, he sees Julie on television, dancing at a nightclub in Antibes. He buys a gun and travels to Antibes where he breaks in to her room at the Hotel Monorail, intent on killing her. When she returns and is confronted by Louis, she offers no resistance. Explaining that her real name is Marion Vergano, she tells him of her sordid past; of the years she spent in prison; and of her association with a heartless gangster, Richard, who was with her on the Mississippi. She recounts that when they met Julie Roussel and learned of her forthcoming marriage, Richard fabricated a plot to kill Julie and send Marion in her place to rob Louis. Afterwards Richard forced her to go through with the robbery and then abandoned her. She tells Louis that she still loves him, and Louis forgives her.

Louis Mahé, un Français de La Réunion se marie grâce à une petite annonce à Julie Roussel. Quand celle-ci arrive à La Réunion à bord du Mississipi, Louis ne la reconnaît pas. Elle lui avoue lui avoir envoyé une fausse photo. Louis trouve le mensonge charmant et épouse Julie. Celle-ci disparaît avec tout son argent. Berthe, la sœur de Julie découvre que Louis n'a pas épousé sa sœur. Louis engage alors un détective privé, Comolli, pour retrouver sa femme. Il la retrouve de lui-même en France et découvre qu'elle s'appelle Marion et qu'elle travaille dans une boite de nuit. Elle lui avoue la supercherie et l'apitoie sur son sort en lui parlant de son enfance malheureuse et en lui apprenant que c'est son amant Richard qui a tué Julie et l'a forcée à prendre sa place. Louis tombe alors amoureux de Marion mais le détective privé qu'il avait lui-même engagé retrouve à son tour la trace de Marion. Pour protéger sa bien-aimée, il décide de tuer lui-même le détective. Marion et Louis s'enfuient à Lyon puis dans un chalet de montagne. Marion, trouvant cette vie désastreuse, souhaite partir mais Louis l'en empêche. Elle tente de l'empoisonner avec de la mort aux rats. Louis s'en aperçoit et lui avoue alors qu'il est prêt à mourir tant il est amoureux d'elle. Réconciliés, les deux amants partent ensemble à travers un paysage de neige.

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La sirene du Mississipi / Mississippi Mermaid - by Francois Truffaut (1969)

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La sirene du Mississipi / Mississippi Mermaid - by Francois Truffaut (1969)

Close

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La sirene du Mississipi / Mississippi Mermaid - by Francois Truffaut (1969)

Close

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La sirene du Mississipi / Mississippi Mermaid - by Francois Truffaut (1969)

Close

×

La sirene du Mississipi / Mississippi Mermaid - by Francois Truffaut (1969)

Close

×

La sirene du Mississipi / Mississippi Mermaid - by Francois Truffaut (1969)

Close

×

La sirene du Mississipi / Mississippi Mermaid - by Francois Truffaut (1969)

Close