Whoa, Nelly: Sautet’s Final Neglected Classic “Nelly and Monsieur Arnaud” (1995) | Blu-ray Review

Claude Sautet took home a Best Director Cesar and lead Michel Serrault nabbed Best Actor for their work on the subtle melodrama Nelly and Monsieur Arnaud, which would stand as the director’s final feature before his death in 2000.

From our 2015 Claude Sautet Retrospective Review:

“Winning Best Director as well as Best Actor for Michel Serrault at the 1995 Cesars, Nelly and Monsieur Arnaud would stand as the final film of director Claude Sautet. The achingly rendered central relationship makes for a curious case study in the deep emotional undercurrents exchanged between two people unable to properly communicate their actual feelings, and as is typical of many Sautet films, it’s a master class of finely attenuated performances. It was the second collaboration of Sautet and the beautiful Emmanuelle Beart (had he lived, she would have taken the muse role occupied by Romy Schneider in his earlier filmography), following 1991’s A Heart in Winter, a title many champion as the director’s masterpiece, and the one that tends to overshadow their second outing.”

Disc Review:

Kino Lorber resurrects this late period Sautet film for Blu-ray, presented in 1.66:1 and 2.0 mono. Picture and sound quality are serviceable in this new transfer, which features an audio commentary track from film historian Kat Ellinger.

Film Rating: ★★★½/☆☆☆☆☆
Disc Rating: ★★★/☆☆☆☆☆