In his third feature and one of the most celebrated films of the French New Wave, Truffaut eschewed the contemporary settings of his earlier films to poetically reimagine European life in the early years of the century. Beginning with the friendship between the titled characters—the Austrian Jules and the French Jim—in Paris before the First World War, Jules and Jim depicts the emotional shifts the men undergo in their mutual relationship to a headstrong young woman (Moreau), who precipitates an unusual romantic triangle sustained over decades. Beloved as much for its impeccable performances as for the beauty of Raoul Coutard’s widescreen cinematography, the film confirms Truffaut’s intimate knowledge of and deep respect for the history of French Cinema, especially the classic work of Jean Renoir.