In August 1975 , Rivette began filming part one of the series : '' Marie et Julien '' , a love story starring Albert Finney and Leslie Caron . After three days of shooting , Rivette broke down due to nervous exhaustion and production of the series was abandoned . Rivette later said that he " broke down physically ... . I had overestimated my own strength . " Although Marguerite Duras offered to finish the film , the actors refused to continue without Rivette . In 2003 , he said that '' Marie et Julien '' was based on a true story of a woman who committed suicide . Rivette 's musical-comedy fourth film would have starred Anna Karina and Jean Marais . '' Noroît '' premiered in London and was shown at the 1976 Cannes Film Festival , but was never distributed . It and '' Duelle '' received mediocre reviews , causing problems for Rivette with the series ' producers . The director said that Susan Sontag enjoyed '' Noroît '' , and Jean Rouch recognised ancient African myths in its plot , where Rivette had included Celtic myths
1976 Cannes Film Festival
1976 Cannes Film Festival
Jacques Rivette