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The Tender Enemy
The Tender Enemy
7.3
/10
353 Ratings

THE TENDER ENEMY

La tendre ennemie

Directed by Max Ophüls
France, 1936
Comedy, Fantasy, Romance

Synopsis

Annette is giving an engagement party for her daughter. As a calculating woman, Annette is not marrying her child to her true love but for money. However, the ghosts of her unhappy husband and less happy lover come to watch the party, and conspire to save the younger woman from a loveless future.

Synopsis

Annette is giving an engagement party for her daughter. As a calculating woman, Annette is not marrying her child to her true love but for money. However, the ghosts of her unhappy husband and less happy lover come to watch the party, and conspire to save the younger woman from a loveless future.

Our take

An elegantly shot drama from Max Ophüls, The Tender Enemy is a moral tale about how the past often informs the present. A bold experiment in social satire, this entertaining comedy established the trademark flashback structure that would distinguish many of the German-born director’s later films.