Phonearl
Good start, but then it gets ruined
Maidexpl
Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast
Micah Lloyd
Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.
MARIO GAUCI
In my view, the reason why this Foreign Language Oscar-winning film is mostly forgotten today is not because it is, as the late British critic Leslie Halliwell opined as early as 1977, "a fashionable film of its time which now has little to offer" but because its director is, unenviably, the veritable cinematic embodiment of a 'one hit wonder'. Unsurprisingly, the accolades which accompanied SUNDAYS AND CYBELE opened for its undeniably talented director Serge Bourguignon the doors of Hollywood but, perhaps just as predictably, his work there never amounted to much and, sadly, 7 years and 3 films later, he dropped completely out of sight and mind. For the record, I did get to see his first Hollywood foray THE REWARD (1965; with Max von Sydow and Gilbert Roland) which, indeed, promised much but delivered very little and, for what it's worth, his next 2 ventures – TWO WEEKS IN September (1967; with Brigitte Bardot and Laurent Terzieff) and THE PICASSO SUMMER (1969; with Albert Finney and Yvette Mimieux) – while also seemingly interesting are, by all accounts, respectively bland and boring!Anyway, the strikingly-directed SUNDAYS AND CYBELE deservedly beat notable competitors like Michael Cacoyannis' ELEKTRA and Nanni Loy's THE FOUR DAYS OF NAPLES (both of which I also own but, so far, am only familiar with the former) at the Oscars, with its moving and, ultimately, tragic story of a misunderstood friendship between an amnesiac 30-year old fighter pilot (Hardy Kruger) and an abandoned, precocious 12-year old schoolgirl (Patricia Gozzi); Maurice Jarre's score was also, rather unaccountably, nominated for an Oscar – in view of the fact that it makes copious use of classical pieces and Gregorian chants. Over the film's opening credits, Kruger is shown mowing down a child during an air raid – a traumatic event which left him so guilt-ridden that the vile abandonment of the little girl by her father at a railway station is unbearable to him…to the extent that he impulsively takes to impersonating him every Sunday, picking her up at her convent school and going on afternoon outings in the woods. Meanwhile, Kruger is being cared for and lives with his nurse (Nicole Courcel) and has bonded with a friendly sculptor (Daniel Ivernel) who, while appreciating the soothing effect the meetings with Gozzi are having on Kruger, also fear that his violent mood swings may eventually endanger the girl. Events come to a head during an enforced wedding party and the subsequent visit to a fairground and, especially, the fatal intervention of the nurse's jealous colleague who brings in the Police when Kruger goes missing on Christmas Eve. As I intimated earlier, the potential sentimentality of the story is kept admirably at bay by the ultra-stylish handling and excellent performances all round; conversely, the main flaws of the film, are a rather deliberate pace and a slightly misjudged ending: while I found the choice to have Kruger's demise occur offscreen effective, I think it would have been even more so had Kruger fallen to his death while trying to steal the all-important (to Gozzi) weathercock off the church steeple rather than being shot dead by the Police for approaching Gozzi with a knife clasped in his hand! The print I saw was a serviceable but very battered one (extremely soft, with a virtually inexistent blackscale and the hard-coded white subtitles occasionally unreadable when appearing against the snowy landscape) – which again points to the unfortunate neglect this film has been subjected to over the years.
victorsargeant
Just remembered the title: "Sunday and Cybel".This film had a major haunting impact upon my life.(Boston 1962)What a beautiful story and "Sunday and Cybel" needs to be preserved on DVD.The childlike trust, and human bond that develops between two "wounded human beings" without a hint of inappropriate sexuality, needs to be seen again and again.I was deeply pleased, that others have found this film as lovely as I did. It warms my heart to see others recognize such tender humanity between a child and an adult."David and Lisa" has a similar sense of love between damaged Souls, out of darkness into the light of emotional "healing".Being a family psychotherapist, only restores my faith in the psyche to find love in a cruel world of distrusting authorities who only know how to kill flies with hammers, and destroy people they do not understand.Bravo to the perfect cast, direct and writers, with brilliant cinematographer, to enrich the story into a rare masterpiece. VSS
Peter Byrne
Hello to all the other lovers of this stupendously beautiful film, wherever you may be in the world. This is not a review as such, other than to say that "Sundays and Cybele" is without doubt the most exquisite, heartbreaking, sublime, delicate, moving and transcendental movie ever created. The purpose of this 'post' is to let you all know that, way down-under here in Melbourne, Australia, I am the fortunate owner of a 16mm cinemas-cope print of this absolute masterpiece. My email address is displayed above. You are welcome to email me personally. If there is ever a possibility that you could get to beautiful Melbourne, I would be proud and delighted to screen the film for you. I myself have resisted the temptation to acquire the film on video...that would seem only to trivialize it, by reducing it to the same size (& therefore stature) as television programs. It is a film to be enjoyed on the big screen and I am doubly fortunate, because there is a small cinema here in Melbourne, seating about 50, which I hire out on those occasions when I can't wait another day to see the film. At the present rate, I screen it about 4 or 5 times a year, sometimes just with myself and 1 other, sometimes with an invited audience of 15 or 20. If at any time any of you readers of this communication would like to take the trouble to journey to Melbourne, Australia, I would gladly run the movie for you, at no cost to you. When I meet you, I will also proudly show you Hardy Kruger's autograph to me, written on an original A4 size poster for the film, which, as a reckless teenager, I stole from its display case on the final day of its big screen season here in Melbourne (in 1964). 14 years later, in 1978, I was lucky enough to meet Hardy when he came to Australia to promote a film he made here ("Storm Boy"). And guess what he said to me when I unrolled the poster and asked if he would sign it? "Ah, my favorite film!!". I am like many of you...I have been haunted, inspired, intoxicated, transported in ecstasy, plunged into the deepest of despair by that extraordinary film ever since. It is an unforgettable encounter with great beauty. Let me know if you can come here to see it. We'll have a wonderful evening. Peter Byrne, Australia.
dontlooknow
I was fortunate to catch a rare rep. theater screening of Sundays and Cybele when I was in High School. The film made a huge impact on me, and I'm happy to report 14 years later that it's as good as I remembered. Why isn't this film mentioned in the same breath as Jules et Jim and Breathless? And why does it have such a lousy video transfer? Sundays and Cybele needs to be restored and re-released- it's one of the greatest movies ever. Does anyone know why Bourguignon made so few films?
