Adventures and misadventures of a couple on wheels
The movie two on the road (1967) showed us the different stages of the marriage formed by Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney through his **travels in France** aboard emblematic cars from the 50s and 60s.
Its colorful credit titles, with a soundtrack by Henry Mancini and exquisite design, already prepared the viewer for the exciting journey which I was going to witness on the screen during the next hour and fifty minutes.
Directed by Stanley Donen, Two for the Road is a atypical road movie in which we are following the marriage formed by the architect Mark Wallace (Finney) and his wife Jo Wallace (Hepburn) through various trips through France at different stages of their ten-year relationship.
The film is a journey through the different phases of a marriage
It is possible to perceive the progressive wear and tear experienced by the relationship from the beginning of it, when Jo wondered aloud as she watched couples devoured by monotony: "what kind of people can they be without saying a word to each other?" ; to which Mark responded bluntly: "married people".
The narrative originality of the film lies in the fact that trips are not listed in chronological order and they are interspersed different stages of relationship , which notably increases its contrast.
The places they go through on their different journeys could not be more impressive on screen: ** Paris, Normandy, Nice, Saint-Tropez, Chantilly, Cap Valery, Beauvallon or Grimaud** are just some of the settings that can be seen in the sequences of the film, whose spectacularity is increased thanks to the vivid chromaticism present in the aesthetics of the 1960s.
An unmistakable aesthetic to which is added the flashy wardrobe who wears a (as always) radiant Audrey Hepburn, in the purest swinging London style of the time. Signatures like Mary Quant, Paco Rabanne, Foale and Tuffin or Andre Courrèges They were in charge of dressing the star.
Its vivid colors are fixed on the retina
Cars are also of special relevance, How could it be less in a production that pretends to be a full-fledged road movie. Emblematic pieces from the 50s and 60s that serve as a traveling stage for the vicissitudes of a married couple.
These are the most prominent vehicles that appear throughout the footage:
CITROËN 2CV
The legendary 'two horses' appears in the film in a 1958 version and in gray. It corresponds to early marriage car , when wear and tear and routine had not yet settled in their lives.
We are talking about a low-cost car that was presented at the French Motor Show in 1948 and quickly drew attention to his peculiar appearance, which earned him nicknames such as donkey, cirila, frog, ugly duckling or goat.
However, it progressively captivated a greater share of followers thanks to the charm of its economical and versatile simplicity, propelled by a mechanics of two opposed cylinders cooled by air, 375 cc and a power of eight horses and not the two that announced his name. The reason is that those two horses were the ones that appeared on his technical sheet and referred to fiscal horses.
During his 42 years of life , between 1948 and 1990, were manufactured 5,114,969 units.
Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney
FORD COUNTRY SQUIRE
It is the car that corresponds to a vacation on the road of the Wallace with another family consisting of Cathy Manchester (played by actress Eleanor Bron), Mark's ex-girlfriend; her husband and their spoiled, spoiled and repellent daughter, because of whom they are about to lose their car keys.
Despite the drawbacks and lack of privacy, Mark and Jo are still deeply in love and they happily enjoy their rest days.
As for the vehicle, it was a relative of the so-called station wagons in its fifth generation, wood and cream colors, with four doors, redesigned chassis and four-speed automatic transmission.
Its huge front grille was characteristic and many of its units already had air conditioning.
MG TD CONVERTIBLE
A 1950 model was with whom Albert Finney appeared in the port of nice to pick up Audrey Hepburn. Quite damaged and with an engine that she couldn't take anymore, Audrey had to push.
And Audrey had to push
It's about a two-seater convertible sports car on frame which turned out to be the most popular of the series manufactured by the British brand. It featured a stiffer chassis that did not distort under extreme torsional conditions and was very easy to drive.
They were made around 30,000 units during its three years of production (between 1950 and 1953) and regarding its technical specifications, it had a 1,250 cc, four-cylinder engine with which it reached a maximum speed of 124 km/m.
TRIUMPH HERALD
In a Herald red convertible we only see Mark, when he has already succeeded in his work as an architect. He is on one of his many business trips and, as the voiceover is heard telling Jo how busy he is, we ended up seeing him in the company of a young blonde.
The Triumph Herald was a two-door utility vehicle that was in production by the English company specializing in motorcycles. between 1959 and 1971. During that time they dispatched around half a million units.
Their retro look , even for its time, has won many followers in the second hand market. Regarding its engine, it is worth mentioning its 948 cc and the four-speed manual transmission.
Audrey Hepburn in the Mercedes Benz 230L
MERCEDES BENZ 230 L ROADSTER
In the film he appears in White color and represents the maturity of the marriage and, at the same time, the absolute decomposition and lack of trust. The car used in the shoot It belonged to director Stanley Donen.
With a very modern design for the time, Thanks to its continuous and elongated profile from the front to the rear, the 230L served for the German brand to enter a new era.
had a fuel-injected six-cylinder engine which provided a fairly vigorous yield. His life in the market lasted from 1963 to 1971.
Two on the road turns out a sophisticated and elegant film without the need to hide the miseries that, sometimes, hide behind apparently idyllic relationships.
After all, marriage is like a journey: It is up to both participants to establish the route, where to make the stops and when to step on the brake or accelerator.
Once the coordinates are plotted, fasten your seatbelts, don't forget your passports (as Mark Wallace did permanently in the movie) and... happy journey!