“Two English Girls” (“Les Deux Anglaises et le Continent”) is a 1971 French romantic drama film directed by François Truffaut, based on the novel by Henri-Pierre Roché. The film stars Jean-Pierre Léaud, Kika Markham, and Stacey Tendeter.
Set in the early 20th century, the film follows the intricate and poignant romantic entanglements between a French writer, Claude Roc (Jean-Pierre Léaud), and two English sisters, Anne Brown (Kika Markham) and Muriel Brown (Stacey Tendeter).
Claude Roc, a young and aspiring writer from Paris, meets Anne Brown during one of her visits to France. Anne, an outgoing and artistic woman, invites Claude to spend the summer at her family’s home in Wales, hoping he will help her shy, introverted sister Muriel escape her shell. As Claude immerses himself in the tranquil and picturesque life of the Welsh countryside, he becomes close to both sisters.
Initially, Anne hopes that Claude and Muriel will fall in love. Despite her initial reticence, Muriel begins to develop feelings for Claude, and he reciprocates. However, their budding romance is complicated by Anne’s deep emotional bond with Claude and her protective feelings towards Muriel.
Claude and Muriel’s relationship intensifies, but when Claude proposes marriage, Muriel’s mother intervenes, fearing that Claude is not financially stable or mature enough to provide for Muriel. Muriel breaks off the engagement at her mother’s insistence, leaving Claude heartbroken.
Claude returns to Paris, channels his heartache into his writing, and lives a bohemian lifestyle. Despite the distance and the passage of time, Claude remains emotionally entangled with both sisters. He continues to correspond with them through letters, maintaining a complex and sometimes tortuous relationship.
Years later, Claude and Muriel reconnect in Paris, and their love is rekindled. However, their reunion is short-lived, as their unresolved tensions and misunderstandings resurface. Meanwhile, Anne, who has had her own romantic disappointments, continues supporting and caring for her sister despite her unspoken feelings for Claude.
The film explores themes of unfulfilled love, the passage of time, and the bittersweet nature of human relationships. It portrays the delicate interplay of passion, loyalty, and sacrifice as Claude, Muriel, and Anne navigate their intertwined lives against the backdrop of the early 20th-century European landscape.
The Other Cinema 