Tristan falls hopelessly in love with his uncle's wife, isolde, in screenwriter cocteau's adaptation of the famous legend. Intense dramatic performances convey the beauty and the agony of the story.
Editor's Note
In Jean Delannoy's haunting love-fable THE ETERNAL RETURN (filmed in France during the German Occupation), screenwriter Jean Cocteau adapts the Tristan and Isolde myth to the modern age, combining the dreamy, tragic quality of a legend of unrequited love with contemporary aspects of family, honor, and relationships. Handsome, carefree Patrice (Jean Marais) is an orphan who lives with his wealthy single uncle Marc (Jean Murat), his meddling aunt Gertrude (Yvonne de Bray) and her husband (Jean d'Yd) in a grand castle estate. Gertrude, an overbearing mother, is forever lamenting over her own son, a dwarf named Achille (Pierre Pieral in an amazing performance) who is prone to reckless, angry, and often evil acts. Thinking Gertrude will cease worrying about her family if her brother Marc finds a bride, Patrice sets out to find one for him, only to fall in love with the beautiful, elusive, and psychologically scarred Natalie (Madeleine Sologne). When Achille tries to poison the pair, he inadvertently slips a love potion into their drinks, unleashing their mutual desire. Patrice is banned from the castle by his jealous uncle, and tries to forget his love with another Natalie (Junie Astor), a sensible woman who is desperately in love with him. What follows then is a series of illusions, suspicions, and deceptions, dramatically played out to the end in this visually stunning, captivating film.
Plot Summary
Patrice introduces the beautiful Nathalie to his widowed uncle, Marc, and the latter two marry. However, a nasty dwarf, who lives in Marc's castle, administers a love potion to Patrice and Nathalie and they begin a passionate affair. When Marc learns of the betrayal, he throws Nathalie out of the castle, separating the two paramours. After a period of trying to live without each other, Nathalie and Patrice reunite for one brief and final time.
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