Lamiel

Lamiel is a 1967 French-Italian co-production directed by Jean Aurel. Shot in French, it is classed as a historical drama, a costume piece set in the 19th century. It had its world premiere in France on 30 August 1967 and reached West German cinemas on 15 March 1968, where it was released as Lamiel – ich liebe die Liebe. A review in the French press described its heroine as something like a female counterpart of Julien Sorel.

The screenplay draws on Stendhal's unfinished last novel, Lamiel, though it follows the book only very loosely. At its centre is Lamiel (Anna Karina), a rebellious orphan born into poverty. A doctor (Michel Bouquet) takes her in and steers her into high society, living out his own desires through her adventures. Lamiel eventually marries a bankrupt count (Jean-Claude Brialy), but a thief who breaks into her bedroom one night turns things in another direction.

Besides Anna Karina, Michel Bouquet and Jean-Claude Brialy, the film stars Pierre Clémenti, Robert Hossein and Bernadette Lafont, with Alice Sapritch, Claude Dauphin and Christian Barbier also in the cast. Jean Aurel wrote the script with Jacques Laurent. The running time is 90 minutes, and in Spain it was shown as La amante francesa.