Mississippi Mermaid (La Sirène du Mississipi) (1969)

85% of critics liked it
(13 reviews)
71% of users liked it
(2,386 ratings)

A rare mid-career flop for director François Truffaut when it was released, Mississippi Mermaid has become a cult favorite, thanks in part to the availability of the original French version, which added 13 minutes to the U.S. release running time. Adapted from a story by William Irish, it's a… More A rare mid-career flop for director François Truffaut when it was released, Mississippi Mermaid has become a cult favorite, thanks in part to the availability of the original French version, which added 13 minutes to the U.S. release running time. Adapted from a story by William Irish, it's a noirish tale of a man who orders a mail-order bride but receives instead a con woman. Louis Mahe (Jean-Paul Belmondo) owns a tobacco factory on the remote Indian Ocean island of Reunion. His bride, Julie Roussel (Catherine Deneuve), looks nothing like the photo she sent him, but she explains that she had forwarded a picture of a friend instead. After Louis allows Julie access to both his personal and company bank accounts, she disappears with most of his fortune. Heartbroken and bitter, he takes a holiday in the south of France and improbably spots "Julie" on a TV news story. When he tracks her down, she reveals her real name, Marion, and how she and her con-man boyfriend, Richard, had intercepted the real Julie on the boat Mississippi that was headed for Reunion. Richard threw Julie off the ship and Marion assumed her identity, but once the two thieves returned to France, Richard made off with the money. Marion professes that she fell in love with Louis, and he believes her. They try to make a life together in France, but a private detective whom Louis and Julie's sister, Berthe, had hired to find Marion, tracks them down to a house they have rented in Aix en Provence, forcing them to go on the run. ~ Tom Wiener, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG, 2 hr. 3 min.
Directed By: François Truffaut
Genres: Drama, Romance, Art House & International

In Theaters: Jan 15, 1969 Wide
On DVD: Jan 23, 2001
Studio: Film Desk

Critic Reviews

Ty Burr, Boston Globe
Mississippi is a film noir shot in dazzling color, a Hitchcock movie with the soul of a Jean Renoir drama.
Melissa Anderson, Village Voice
Truffaut's frequently overlooked eighth feature isn't kid stuff.
Janet Maslin, New York Times
It defies easy definition and blithely triumphs over what initially appears to be structural schizophrenia. It is the creation of a superior moviemaker who works eccentrically in the classical tradition.
Amy Taubin, Village Voice
One of the director's weakest films.
Edward Guthmann, San Francisco Chronicle
A romantic humanist with an infectious love for cinema, Truffaut introduced an effervescence, wit and a gift for brisk storytelling that's still unmatched.
David Fear, Time Out New York
Try to view this tale of a siren's song as something chewier than a cover version of Hitch's greatest hits, and what's left is a facile take on l'amour fou.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
This perverse love story just doesn't fly.
Douglas Pratt, DVDLaser
Approached as a caper film or a revenge-and-murder thriller, the movie is unsatisfying, but seen as a love story in which criminal activities are used to provide tension and an atmosphere of isolation, it is brilliantly unnerving
John A. Nesbit, Old School Reviews
Truffaut demonstrates his ability to venture into Hitchcock's suspense/thriller territory while simultaneously delving into Buñuel's patented themes of sexual obsession
Jeremy Heilman, MovieMartyr.com
Eminently watchable.
G. Allen Johnson, San Francisco Examiner
It's the crown jewel of the Castro's Truffaut retrospective, beginning Friday, and for very good reason.

Read all 11 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Jim H

A man mail-orders a wife who rather quickly steals his fortune. He pursues her, and they begin a cat-and-mouse courtship. Critics seem to suggest that this is either Truffaut imitating Hitchcock, a unique love story, or both. For me, the Hitchcockian plot is easy to stay ahead of;… More
A man mail-orders a wife who rather quickly steals his fortune. He pursues her, and they begin a cat-and-mouse courtship. Critics seem to suggest that this is either Truffaut imitating Hitchcock, a unique love story, or both. For me, the Hitchcockian plot is easy to stay ahead of; the film doesn't offer many surprises, and when it attempts to, they seem contrived and forced. Likewise, the love story lacks any chemistry. I spent most of the film wondering what allure Julie has aside from Catherine Deneuve's rather attractive physique, and from her point of view, how is Jean-Paul not just another obsessive mark? Also, I'm wondering about the comparisons of Truffaut to Hitchcock regarding this film from a directing point of view. Hitch's trademarks were his incredibly well-framed shots, which revealed and concealed with precision, and deft camera movement. Truffaut often sets the camera on a tripod and says, "Action." I think this works well in the Antonin Doinel films, which are more about character than plot, but it falls flat in this noir-ish snore. However, I did like the ending, but for fear of spoiling, I shall not say why. Overall, this film fails to meet any expectations -- high ones like Truffaut's reputation and its comparison to Hitchcock and low ones like what I'd expect any time I start to watch a film.
Walter M

[font=Century Gothic][color=blue]"Mississippi Mermaid" starts out on the Isle of Reunion as cigarette factory owner, Louis Mahe(Jean Paul Belmondo) waits for his fiancee as the eponymous boat is docking. He met her through a personal ad.(During the opening credits, various… More
[font=Century Gothic][color=blue]"Mississippi Mermaid" starts out on the Isle of Reunion as cigarette factory owner, Louis Mahe(Jean Paul Belmondo) waits for his fiancee as the eponymous boat is docking. He met her through a personal ad.(During the opening credits, various voices read out personal ads.) The woman who shows up does not resemble the photo he was sent but he does not mind since the woman is played by the beautiful Catherine Deneuve. As he gets to know her, he becomes suspicious that things are not exactly right. This is not one of Francois Truffaut's better movies but it is still entertaining due to the talents of its two stars.(According to Wikipedia, the Isle of Reunion is still under the government of France which lends an uncomfortable air of colonialism to the proceedings.)[/color][/font] [font=Century Gothic][color=#0000ff][/color][/font] [font=Century Gothic][color=red]I had hesitated in seeing "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg" before because when I had seen the trailer, it had looked very corny, especially the scene at the train station where the two lovers part. But since I have now seen the film, I have come to a different conclusion. Watching Genevieve(Catherine Deneuve) and Guy(Nino Castelnuovo) in love for the first thirty minutes makes that scene in the context of the film powerfully emotional. Guy is getting drafted into the army and they are not sure when they will be reunited. What makes this film unique is that all of the dialogue is sung(early in the film, the couple mention they are going to go see the opera, Carmen) and the film is absolutely beautiful to look at. This is an excellent film about the idealism of youth as compared to the compromises of being a grown up.(Roland Cassard(Marc Michel) who was a character in Jacques Demy's Lola(1961) makes a return appearance here.)[/color][/font] [font=Century Gothic][color=#0000ff][/color][/font] [font=Century Gothic][color=#0000ff][/color][/font]
FanGirl B

I'm not sure sure, but I pretty confident that Original Sin (2001) was remake of this film. Original Sin sucked but Mississippi Mermaid is a solid film.