Jean-Pierre Léaud, Claude Jade , Hiroko
Berghauer , Barbara Laage, Claire Duhamel , Danièle Gérard
In the fourth installment of François
Truffaut's Antoine Doniel series, this romantic comedy shows how
Antoine (Jean-Pierre Léaud) went from being a mischievous boy to
an adorably charming young man of 26. Domicile Conjugal begins with
Antoine settling down with Christine (Claude Jade), his girlfriend
from the previous film, Baisers volés. He finds himself accepted
and loved by his wife and her family, so the young couple move in
to an apartment building together. They live in a lively neighborhood
of interesting characters, such as the old man who never leaves
and the opera singer who fights with his wife. Antoine finds work
as a florist painting roses, while Christine makes a living by teaching
violin lessons. After he gets involved in an accidental fire at
the florist's, he gets a new job with an American corporation where
he steers radio-controlled boats around a pond all day. A big change
occurs when Christine becomes pregnant and gives birth to a baby
boy, while Antoine grows increasingly distant. Eventually, he becomes
infatuated with a Japanese girl, Kyoko (Hiroko Berghauer), resulting
in some shifts in lifestyle. The fifth and final Antoine Doniel
film L'Amour en fuite was released in 1979, picking up the story
with Antoine after he reaches his thirties. |