This is an original Japanese B2 theatrical poster printed in 1976 for the Japanese re-release of Bonjour Tristesse (悲しみよこんにちは), directed by Otto Preminger and starring Jean Seberg, David Niven, and Deborah Kerr. Based on Françoise Sagan’s celebrated 1954 debut novel, the film remains one of the defining “sunlit malaise” dramas of post-war European-set cinema—youth, desire, and cruelty unfolding on the French Riviera.
Film background
Set in the Côte d’Azur summer haze, the story follows Cécile (Seberg), a teenager drifting between innocence and manipulation as her widowed father’s romance threatens the carefree world she clings to. Preminger’s adaptation is elegant, psychologically sharp, and famously stylish—an enduring piece of 1950s cinema that found fresh audiences through later revival screenings.
Poster design (Saul Bass)
A true design icon: this poster uses the minimalist key art by legendary graphic designer Saul Bass.
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Central figure: a large black-and-white portrait of Jean Seberg—the “gamine” face that became inseparable from the film’s identity.
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Bass motif: the red “weeping face” line drawing at right, one of Bass’s most memorable marketing symbols—simple, haunting, instantly recognisable.
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Riviera setting: the high-contrast scenic strip at the top evokes the French coastal environment where beauty and emotional danger coexist.
Finished with the elegant script Bonjour Tristesse across the image and bold Japanese title 悲しみよこんにちは at the base, it’s a perfect example of mid-century design sensibility still feeling modern decades later.
Condition
Excellent. Please review the photos—they show the exact poster for sale.
It is nearly 50 years old!
It is not a reproduction or a reprint.
Certificate of Authenticity included.
