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RENDEZ-VOUS WITH FRENCH CINEMA 2001 Send This Review to a Friend
Those film distributors who haven't yet nailed down the rights to some of the strong recent French films should take note. The "Rendez-vous With French Cinema 2001"
(March 9-18 at the Walter Reade Theater in Lincoln Center, New York) reveals creative new currents in films coming from France, and various ones sampled from the most interesting collection are particularly entertaining and worthy of extensive international showing. This year's version of the annual event received a colorful sendoff with important stars and directors turning up to meet the public and the press.
While I didn't catch all 13 of the films scheduled, I'm enthusiastic about most of what I did see. "Saint-Cyr," for example, set in the late 17th century and directed by Patricia Mazuy, is a fascinating film with an absorbing historical perspective and a major performance triumph in the extensive career of Isabelle Huppert. She is outstanding in the role Madame de Maintenon, married to King Louis 14th. Maintenon, who hopes to help young women become more educated and independent-minded, establishes a boarding school for the daughters of noble families who have descended into relative poverty. She gathers girls from various parts of the country and tries to provide them with culture and self-esteem.
But her good intentions run up against the rigidity of religion and mores of the period, and by the time the girls have become young women and show some of the free attittudes instilled in them as well as sexual stirrings, they are pounced upon with repression, and Maintenon herself, who becomes very emotionally conflicted and bows to the dictates of religion, betrays all that she has tried to stand for in educating her charges.
Huppert is brilliant in communicating the clashing forces raging within her, and the supporting cast is ideal, including Nina Meurisse and Morgane More as the two key young women in the unfolding, turbulent drama. The cinematography is impressive, one gets a firm sense of the period and "Saint-Cyr" has a vital feminist viewpoint in depicting the battle between ideals and the reality of the time.
"Sade," directed by Benoit Jacquot, also gains from its depiction of the dangerous era of "The Terror" in which Sade lived and was in peril of execution, with the setting an estate that has become a prison for members of the aristocracy as the guillotine in France is kept busy. The film is utterly different from the frenetic, impassioned and very fictional "Quills." Jacquot's work strives for a calm historical reality and concentrates on the seductive powers of Sade, played with intelligence and intensity by Daniel Auteuil.
The spell the Marquis weaves on the innocent young Emilie, portrayed hauntingly by Isild Le Besco is fascinating to watch, especially when his wiles are climaxed by the seduction he arranges between Emilie and the young man he chooses to take her virginity while he oversees and dictates the action. Marianne Denicourt is beautiful and affecting as Sensible, Sade's devoted mistress. The portrait of Sade at 50 is both sympathetic and ominous with respect to the power he can exert over those whom he meets and attempts to cultivate.
Auteuil and Denicourt were among the French delegation in support of the series, and as might be expected, they caused a stir as a result of her beauty and his charm. Off-screen Auteuil is extremely personable and good-looking, although shorter than he seems on film. American followers of French cinema are getting to know this busy, accomplished actor better, especially in view of his recent good work in "The Widow of St. Pierre."
"Murderous Maids" ("Les Blessures assassines"), directed by Jean-Pierre Denis, is yet another film based on the strange real tale of the infamous Papin sisters, who in the 1930s, while working as maids, killed their employer and her daughter. In this version, which Denis wrote with Michele Halberstadt, the stress is on the psychological buildup as well as the class angle that has intrigued others. Thus we have a strong basis for understanding, at least in this interpretation, the motivations and personalities that led to the tragic, murderous outburst.
Sylvie Testud and Julie-Marie Parmentier are excellent as Christine and Lea, with Christine the one seething with inner, dangerous anger. The film depicts sexuality between the sisters, and Denis claimed in a conversation I had with him that there is strong basis for going that route. Regardless of what the true story was, the sexual closeness depicted on screen makes sense in view of the tightly-knit relationship we see. On virtually every level "Murderous Maids" is a dramatic knockout.
"Tomorrow's Another Day," written and directed by Jeanne Labrune, is contemporary and witty as the film examines how people worry about the little problems in their daily lives, problems that can escalate into dramatic and sometimes hilarious consequences. This is a film that depends on detail and strong performances, and Labrune has been fortunate in assembling a cast that includes Nathalie Baye, Jeanne Balibar, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Isabelle Carre, Didier Bezace, Sophie Guillemin and even the venerable Danielle Darrieux.
During her visit to New York, Labrune said in response to a question about how she came to cast Darrieux that she simply asked the renowned actress if she would be interested, and was gratified to get a quick acceptance. Darrieux is 84 but looks much, much younger. Seeing her in a new film is a treat. "Tomorrow's Another Day," admirably low key, is a droll, wise film that can delight and win over an audience.
"Hair Under the Roses," a film by Agnes Obadia and Jean-Julien Chevrier, is another contemporary, knowing work that comically and romantically explores the anxieties of growing up. Julie Durand as 14-year-old Roudoudou fantasizes about sex and so yearns to have her first experience although she is thoroughly ill-prepared for it. She is very funny in her assertive mode as she struggles to sound mature beyond her years, yet is filled with self-doubt. Alexis Roucout as 15-year-old Romain likewise hungers after his first sexual experience and he and his young pal Francis (Jean-Baptiste Penigault) talk and talk about sex, trying to sound adult, but very funny in their inexperience.
The plot thickens when they go after each other's mothers, who they think are having a lesbian relationship. Their rationale is that by having sex with the women they can steer them toward heterosexuality. Their clumsy attempt to turn the women on is a riot. This coming-of-age film is different than most for its candor and basic truthfulness. Obadia, who also visited New York in support of the series and expressed delight in the fact that her film was understood and appreciated, plays one of the mothers in the most original scene, in which she puts her young suitor in his place with a measure of tenderness in the rejection.
"A Crime in Paradise" is a big hit in Paris and is the sort of the film that should find an audience anywhere. It is based on an original screenplay by the late Sacha Guitry, a story that was previously made as "Poison" This new version, directed by Jean Becker, is a comic treasure, with Jacques Villeret hilarious as Jojo, a farmer in a miserable marriage to a nasty wife, played with total hostility by Josiane Balasko. She taunts her long-suffering husband with every offense she can dream up and is planning to kill him. Meanwhile, he'd like to kill her.
One day while watching television he sees what a hot shot lawyer can do in getting criminals off. His visit to the attorney, played with comic astuteness by the excellent and popular actor Andre Dussollier, whom he enlists to defend him for the murder he has yet to commit, is utterly hilarious. The film yields laugh after laugh, thanks to the acting and smart direction. In this version there is a new role of Jojo's schoolteacher, played by veteran actress Suzanne Flon.
During Becker's visit to New York I asked him about his famous filmmaker father, Jacques Becker, who worked with Jean Renoir as well as making his own movies. "My father taught me everything I know," said the affable director.
"Girls Can't Swim," directed by Anne-Sophie Birot," is yet another showcase for the talents of Isild Le Besco, who is becoming one of France's most popular young actresses. Here she plays Gwen, a self-absorbed, pouting teenager who has a close friend, and during a summer vacation at the beach, tensions between them mount and explode, with events leading to tragic consequences.
For a while the film is intriguing, but despite Le Besco's good performance and firm supporting roles, the characters begin to grate and the developments aren't convincing enough to support the heavy turn the film takes. But there is no question that Le Besco is fascinating to watch, just as she is in the much more interesting portrayal she provides in "Sade."
"Nightshift" is another worthy film, and although it too becomes overwrought, the picture it portrays of workers in a bottle factory makes this a drama that's different. It is very well directed by Philippe Le Guay. Gerald Laroche plays Pierre, who goes on the nightshift at the plant, and is a decent type who would like to get along with everyone. But Marc Barbe as Fred, a troubled, hostile co-worker, persists in bullying and taunting him. Pierre's young son loses respect for his father and starts looking up to Fred. The set-up is a prescription for potential disaster.
"La Captive," a film by Chantal Akerman bored me with its contrivances and heaviness. Based on Marcel Proust's story "The Prisoner," the drama stars Sylvie Testud (mentioned above for her work in "Murderous Maids") as Ariane, a young woman who subjugates herself to the domination and whims of Simon (Stanislas Merhar), with whom she lives in an upscale Paris apartment. Simon bugs her with endless questioning, and is never satisfied with the answers. She is phlegmatic as she attempts to please him, but is really seething with resentment. Will her emotions explode in defiance one day?
Simon's manipulations become tiresome, as does Ariane's acquiescence, and the film takes on an ultra-pretentious air. However, there's no question that Akerman achieves exactly what she is after in creating her atmosphere and getting both performances in tune with her vision as "La Captive" becomes a metaphor for man's subjugation of women.
Other films in the series that I didn't get to see include "Samia," "Esther Kahn" "According to Matthieu" and "The Town is Quiet." The "Rendez-vous with French Cinema 2001" is a joint presentation of The Film Society of Lincoln Center, Unifrance and the French Film Office/Unifrance USA and the French Cultural Services.
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