Sightlines · reception

How Eyes Full of Sun was received

1970 · Michel Boisrond · Eyes Full of Sun on Sightlines

The arc

Sniffed at by French critics in 1970 as glossy commercial 'eye candy' and quickly forgotten at home, it now survives mostly as a rediscovery item — a DVD reissue and, above all, its Francis Lai soundtrack keep it circulating.

Its footprint

Its real cultural afterlife is musical: the lush Francis Lai theme has outlived the film itself, endlessly compiled, reissued and collected by soundtrack hunters.

Where it stands

A true deep cut — the kind of sun-drenched French obscurity more people have heard (via the Lai score) than actually seen.

Did you know? The film's theme song is sung by Séverine — who one year later won the 1971 Eurovision Song Contest for Monaco with 'Un banc, un arbre, une rue'.