An intriguing film from the late 1960s, La Piscine was made during the May ’68 protests, with the sexual revolution in full swing. A young couple (Alain Delon and Romy Schneider) spend the summer in a luxurious villa on the Côte d’Azur, passing their days sunbathing by the pool, swimming, and making love. Everything changes with the arrival of an older friend (Maurice Ronet) and his young daughter (Jane Birkin). Jealousy, revealing conversations, seduction, and an unexpected death follow. (Movie distributor Cinemateca Portuguesa - Museu do Cinema, IP)
The chemistry between Delon and Schneider is palpable. Once real-life lovers, their comfort and intensity before the camera make the film deeply convincing. The sensuality with which the camera glides over their sun-kissed bodies as they lounge by the pool remains mesmerizing today. Even when clothed, André Courrèges’ wardrobe is stunning—especially Schneider’s, who parades a series of exquisite outfits.
Co-written by director Jacques Deray, Alain Page, and Jean-Claude Carrière, La Piscine is a taut psychological thriller—one of those quietly intense films in which it seems as though nothing is happening, yet every word, every pause, and every unspoken thought builds a mounting tension that grips us until the very last scene.
La Piscine went on to inspire later works such as François Ozon’s Swimming Pool and Luca Guadagnino’s A Bigger Splash.
Note: The film was screened at the Cinemateca Portuguesa as part of the French Film Festival, paying tribute to the late Alain Delon.
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Thanks to: Pedro Miguel Fernandes,CINEMATECA PORTUGUESA - Museu do Cinema, IP