THE ETERNAL RETURN (1943)

Jean Cocteau wrote this adaptation of the Tristan and Isolde story. Jean Marais (Cocteau's muse and lover, and star of his BEAUTY AND THE BEAST) plays Patrice, a young man who lives a rather carefree life with his rich uncle Marc and assorted other family members, including Marc's sister and her wicked dwarf son (Pieral). Patrice sets out to find his uncle a wife and brings back Nathalie (Madeleine Sologne), who falls for Patrice, not the uncle. The dwarf puts poison in Patrice and Nathalie's drinks, but it's really a love potion she has brought with her from her guardian, and the two fall madly in love. The uncle goes through with the marriage to Nathalie and throws Patrice out; he falls for another woman, also named Nathalie (Junie Astor) but cannot forget his first love, with tragic results for all. As the beginning feels a bit like Beauty and the Beast, the ending conjures up Romeo and Juliet. Marais and Sologne are both high-cheekboned, blonde, Nordic beauties. Though seemingly set in modern times, the movie, especially at its climax, has a timeless, mythic look and feels like many of Cocteau's films--although the director of record isn't Cocteau but Jean Dellannoy. Pieral as the dwarf gives the best performance; Marais looks the part, but his acting is only so-so. [VHS]