Le Feu follet (A Time to Live and a Time to Die) (The Fire Within)

Le Feu follet (A Time to Live and a Time to Die) (The Fire Within) (1963)

  • 90% of critics liked it
    (10 reviews)

  • 90% of users liked it
    (1,605 ratings)

Maurice Ronet plays an alcoholic writer, Alain Leroy, who is on the verge of suicide (his character is based on writer Jacques Rigaut, who killed himself in 1929). The psychiatrist assigned to Leroy is no help, advising his patient to seek a reconciliation with his wife, who is still smarting from… More

Unrated, 1 hr. 44 min.
Directed By
Louis Malle
Genres
Art House & International, Drama
In Theaters
Oct 7, 1963 Wide
On DVD
May 13, 2008

Critic Reviews

  • A.H. Weiler, New York Times

    Highly introspective, often tenderly touching and sometimes tediously redundant.

  • Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

    The film is a triumph of style. It is quiet and indicative. It doesn't explain a lot, but we understand a lot about it all the same.

  • Don Druker, Chicago Reader

    It's a penetrating study of a man at the end of his rope, and a searing re-creation of a social milieu.

  • Dan Callahan, Slant Magazine

    A heartfelt but unsuccessful film that could have been much better with a more variegated point of view.

  • Dan Callahan, Slant Magazine

    To be frank, Fire Within devastated me when I saw it in college, but the unrelieved ennui that struck me as scrupulously honest and brave then looks one-note and aimless to me now.

Read all 10 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

  • Anthony L


    Celebrated as one of Malle's best, particularly of his earlier films, I don't believe Le Feu follet really deserves all it's praise. It is a good film, with brilliant performances and a subtlety in script and story that never once wanders into the cliched romantic view… More

  • Tim S


    This is one of the most beautiful movies I have ever seen. I love the way it was shot and acted and the different things that it brought up really resonated for me personally. On the other hand, be forewarned, it is utterly one of the most depressing movies I have seen. The entire… More

  • Walter M


    [font=Century Gothic]Talky and episodic but refreshingly downbeat, "The Fire Within" starts with Alain(Maurice Ronet) staring at Lydia(Lena Skerla) after they have had sex which I am sure has nothing to do with her writing him a check so he can pay off old gambling debts.… More

  • Mike T


    A languid, contemplative film about the profound unhappiness of a suicidal man. Louis Malle's direction and Maurice Ronet's understated performance dissuade the film from ever acquiring the tired cliche of romanticized misery. It's a stark, bleak picture with plenty of… More

Cast

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