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Post by morrisondylanfan on Jul 28, 2019 23:59:39 GMT
Hi all,after Caprices & Gambling Hell,I decided to complete the trio of French films from 1942 with this Criterion title:   Les Visiteurs du Soir (1942) 10 "My daughter would like to hear those lovely things that speak to the heart, those beautiful love stories that appeal to simple dreamers." Travelling back to Medieval France,co-writer/(with Pierre Laroche) Jacques Prevert continues the collaboration with auteur director Marcel Carne & cinematographer Roger Hubert in taking a allegorical attack to the Nazi Occupation of France, here represented as the actual "Devil",who tries to impersonate/blend in with the residences (who can't shake off that the image he's presenting is false) and forcing the Resistance/ resisting lovers into writing away all that makes them independent,to join him in a forced relationship. Keeping references to the real occupying devil under the skin, the writers take the "Poetic Realism" of the era and sprinkle it into a spellbinding Fantasy, pulled by an atmosphere of forbidden love from Satan's "envoy's" Gilles and Dominique losing their horns to passionate flames of unexpected romance. Keeping the heart of France beating even in the stone of Occupation, director Carne teams up with cinematographer Hubert again and unveils a startling dive into the surreal, sparkling in long tracking shots of Gilles and Dominique walking between guests frozen in time at the palace, (credit to the extras for staying so still!) getting weaved with glittering in-camera magic of dissolves and pause/start effects. Carving the incredibly moving final shot, Carne takes the fantastical elements of the tale,and curls it round his distinctive Poetic Realism ultra- stylisation, blossoming in refined close-ups on Gilles and Anne, shadowed by crawling panning shots following Satan breaking the chains of romance. Featuring un-credited cameos from Alain Resnais and Simone Signoret, Alain Cuny gives a excellent performance as Gilles, who Cuny twirls from being devilish charming, to fairy tale, heroic heartbreak, shared with Marie Dea's superb, expressive Anne. Sent down by Jules Berry's delightfully cackling Devil, "Arletty" reunites with Carne,and presents a mesmerising turn as Dominique, ignited in Arletty expressing with her body language in dialogue-free set-pieces the sorrow of having to turn her back from her love,towards the devil, probably. |
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Post by morrisondylanfan on Aug 5, 2019 23:30:53 GMT
Hi all,With manfromplanetx birthday soon(Happy Birthday!) I hope he enjoys this film which I recently uncovered (I suspect this is a Noir fuse hitchcockthelegend will also enjoy lighting.) With Eng Subs:   Such a Pretty Little Beach (1949) 10 “You remind me of a hyena. A dog living in hot countries and feeding on corpses.”A decade before the movement got into full flow, director Yves Allegret & cinematographer Henri Alekan build a sandcastle between the poetic Film Noir’s of the 30’s and 40’s,and the realism of the French New Wave in the late 50’s. Closely working with sound team Jacques Carrere and Pierre-Louis Calvet , Allegret creates an incredibly haunting sound design, pelting the hotel roof with rain which lands like gunshots, and lone creaks from doors opened in the hotel room, listened to by the residence as if part of a espionage mission. Sticking a spade into the beach with a breath-taking final shot, Allegret and Alekan display a delicate quality springing from FNW-style long panning shots catching the fellow hotel guests and staff taking a sly glance at Pierre, to brewing a icy Film Noir atmosphere of a ill-looking Pierre sleeping over dissolves,joined by the outside bullets of rain falling into Pierre embrace with Marthe. Entering the hotel looking like he is at deaths door, the screenplay by Jacques Sigurd brilliantly matches Allegret’s stylisation,in the characterization of Pierre, who Sigurd has netted between the the ridden with pessimism Noir loner of the 30’s/40,with the bruised, outsider rebel streak of the FNW. Unable to take their eyes off Pierre, Sigurd cleverly circles the staff/fellow guests at the hotel to cast the ghostly image of Pierre, glowing from the simmering with menace clipped dialogue of fellow “guest” Fred,and the lone hands of empathy offered by Marthe. The lone person in the washed out town to reach out, the elegant Madeleine Robinson gives a exquisite turn as Marthe, whose own worn-down past is cut open by Robinson to slowly entangle Marthe with Pierre, whilst Jean Servais plays for the creeping slow-burn as Fred. Permanently haunted by his past,Gerard Philipe gives a mesmerising, expressive performance as Pierre,whose every look back is carried by Philipe like a ghost,fading away on such a pretty little beach.
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Post by dirtypillows on Aug 6, 2019 0:37:10 GMT
I watched "Small Change" last night. It was a charming, lovely film about the resilience of children. Only could be directed by Truffaut. I am planning on watching "Day For Night" later this evening.
I think that the French make the best movies. Italian movies are my second favorite.
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Post by dirtypillows on Aug 6, 2019 1:38:22 GMT
My favorite French films -- first group I love, second group I like a lot... easy enough...
"Last Year At Marienbad"
"Jules and Jim"
"Mr. Hulot's Holiday"
"Going Places"
"The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie"
"La Cage Aux Folles"
"Le Trou"
"Murmur of the Heart"
"Eyes Without a Face"
"Elevator to the Gallows"
"Bay of Angels"
"Small Change"
"Shoot the Piano Player"
"La Cage Aux Folles, Part 2"
"Stolen Kisses"
"Les Biches"
"Les Cousins"
"Les Diaboliques"
"Claire's Knee"
"Masculine Feminine"
"The Earrings of Madame De"
"My Life to Live"
"Playtime"
"The 400 Blows"
"Rififi"
"Belle de Jour"
There's a lot more French film I need to see. I want to see "Wages of Fear" and "Celine and Julie Go Boating" and the Max Ophuls stuff. I am planning on watching "Day For Night" soon.
I am divided on Godard. I was not overly fond of "Breathless" and I really did not like "Weekend" at all. Truffaut is my favorite French director, he had a light touch that was otherworldly. So generous in his outlook. The only film of his that I did not care for was "The Story of Adele H." I need to see more Rohmer, too. Also on my list are "L' Atalante" and "Children of Paradise", which I will have to psych myself up for. "The Passion of Joan Of Arc" may be a one of kind movie going experience and Pauline Kael said Maria Falconetti gave perhaps the best performance ever recorded on film, but Dreyer is just soooo intense that it freaks me out a little. "Day of Wrath" (not a French film) was terrifying. Dreyer's somber approach makes Bergman look like fun and games. I've seen "Rules of the Game" and "Grande Illusion", but that was over twenty years ago and need to revisit.
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Post by morrisondylanfan on Aug 8, 2019 14:05:29 GMT
HI all,since reading about it a few years ago,this has been the Chabrol I've most looked forward to,and it surpassed all expectations.  My new best-worst CC ranking: This Man Must Die. The Cry of the Owl Hell/L'enfer Line of Demarcation Alice or The Last Escapade Les Biches À double tour Champagne Murders Le Boucher Madame Bovary Comedy of Power La Cérémonie The Girl Cut in Two "Dream images belong in dreams,not in real life." The Cry of the Owl (1987) 10 Slipping on Patricia Highsmith's novel like a velvet glove, co-writer/(with regular collaborator Odile Barski) directing auteur Claude Chabrol's adaptation takes Highsmith cynical,apprehension world view, and superbly coils it with the rich dissection of the murderous bourgeoisie which spans across his credits. First sighting Juliette by watching from afar, the writers alight a fatalist Neo-Noir edge in the entanglement between Robert and Juliette, spun from the pressure of trying to keep how they first met secret, and Juliette's ex Patrick digging for details on this outsider. Cracking open Robert's past from his bitter ex-wife Veronique's hissing asides which hold Robert from escaping his old life, (a major theme in Chabrol's credits) the writers display their claws with a tantalising Mystery Thriller, sinking into Robert's detached bourgeoisie status being torn to shreds by bitter, calculating ex's,and Chabrol's traditional, doubting police officers, leaving everything in a bloody pile on the floor. Soaring on his son Matthieu's plucked, spidery score, Chabrol & his regular cinematographer Jean Rabier take a turn of the screw with a unrelenting tense atmosphere, nailed in French New Wave distorted wide-views, imprinting the impression of Robert being a loner from all those in town. Setting out the rules of the game for him, Chabrol grinds Robert down with bursts of red against a pristine, sterilised white and silver canvas, reflecting the Noir lack of morals, in the conniving bourgeoisie. Taunting her ex Robert, Virginie Thevenet gives a alluring, viciously seductive turn as Veronique,whilst Jacques Penot slithers round being the Highsmith blonde psychopath Patrick. Dazed by the pure vision of Juliette, (a terrific Mathilda May) Christophe Malavoy gives a excellent performance as Robert, who whilst getting shaky at the edges from becoming entrapped in a game, is held at the core by Malavoy as a Noir loner, detached from the cry of the owl. |
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Post by manfromplanetx on Aug 10, 2019 0:59:31 GMT
HI all,since reading about it a few years ago,this has been the Chabrol I've most looked forward to,and it surpassed all expectations. Hi there MDF Many Thanks for the b/day wishes and the film rec. aka Riptide, looks like a real treat looking forward to watching along with, La fête à Henriette (1952) another of your highly recommends , both are now on the way here from MD.I also regard the excellent thriller Que la bête meure (1969) as the best Chabrol from many seen, the director having such a varied output, so was most interested to learn of The Cry of the Owl . Following on with just a glance over your glowing 10 star review I have tracked down a copy and am looking ahead to some great entertaining Classic French Cinema 
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Post by morrisondylanfan on Aug 11, 2019 0:03:52 GMT
HI all,since reading about it a few years ago,this has been the Chabrol I've most looked forward to,and it surpassed all expectations. Hi there MDF Many Thanks for the b/day wishes and the film rec. aka Riptide, looks like a real treat looking forward to watching along with, La fête à Henriette (1952) another of your highly recommends , both are now on the way here from MD.I also regard the excellent thriller Que la bête meure (1969) as the best Chabrol from many seen, the director having such a varied output, so was most interested to learn of The Cry of the Owl . Following on with just a glance over your glowing 10 star review I have tracked down a copy and am looking ahead to some great entertaining Classic French Cinema Hi Planet X,I hope weekend is going OK,and with this being my 500th post on the boards here,I hope you had a fantastic birthday,and got some good presents. On Little Beach,I hope you like he gift,with it being one of the few films I've seen sit between the poetic realism era,and FNW. On CC,I agree about him having a pretty spotty output, and I'll be interested to read about how you find Owl to be. On a CC note,I was wondering if you've seen his Les Biches (1968)? I won't give it away,but part of Owl reminded me of the earlier film. Away from French cinema (just for a moment!),if you enjoy Owl,I do recommend the 2009 adaptation. Avoiding spoilers, the 2009 version takes more of a focus on the early stages of the main relationship. 
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Post by morrisondylanfan on Aug 11, 2019 1:58:48 GMT
I watched "Small Change" last night. It was a charming, lovely film about the resilience of children. Only could be directed by Truffaut. I am planning on watching "Day For Night" later this evening. I think that the French make the best movies. Italian movies are my second favorite. Hi Pillows,I hope weekend is going well,and the summing up you give for Small Change is spot-on, with Truffaut giving it a real breezy lightness. With you having enjoyed seeing him direct kids here,have you seen FT's The Wild Child (1970)? 
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Post by morrisondylanfan on Aug 12, 2019 1:48:23 GMT
My favorite French films -- first group I love, second group I like a lot... easy enough... "Last Year At Marienbad" "Jules and Jim" "Mr. Hulot's Holiday" "Going Places" "The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie" "La Cage Aux Folles" "Le Trou" "Murmur of the Heart" "Eyes Without a Face" "Elevator to the Gallows" "Bay of Angels" "Small Change" "Shoot the Piano Player" "La Cage Aux Folles, Part 2" "Stolen Kisses" "Les Biches" "Les Cousins" "Les Diaboliques" "Claire's Knee" "Masculine Feminine" "The Earrings of Madame De" "My Life to Live" "Playtime" "The 400 Blows" "Rififi" "Belle de Jour" There's a lot more French film I need to see. I want to see "Wages of Fear" and "Celine and Julie Go Boating" and the Max Ophuls stuff. I am planning on watching "Day For Night" soon. I am divided on Godard. I was not overly fond of "Breathless" and I really did not like "Weekend" at all. Truffaut is my favorite French director, he had a light touch that was otherworldly. So generous in his outlook. The only film of his that I did not care for was "The Story of Adele H." I need to see more Rohmer, too. Also on my list are "L' Atalante" and "Children of Paradise", which I will have to psych myself up for. "The Passion of Joan Of Arc" may be a one of kind movie going experience and Pauline Kael said Maria Falconetti gave perhaps the best performance ever recorded on film, but Dreyer is just soooo intense that it freaks me out a little. "Day of Wrath" (not a French film) was terrifying. Dreyer's somber approach makes Bergman look like fun and games. I've seen "Rules of the Game" and "Grande Illusion", but that was over twenty years ago and need to revisit. Hi Pillows,I hope you had a good weekend,and that's a excellent list of French flicks you've made (I've been meaning to see Bay of Angels for ages! With Le Trou being on your list,have you seen any of Jacques Becker's other films?
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Post by morrisondylanfan on Aug 26, 2019 19:29:46 GMT
Hi all,for Bank Holiday Monday,I decided to watch a War flick epic.  Weekend at Dunkirk (1964) 5/10-Watch Wooden Crosses instead! Despite having shown in other works that they can give mesmerising performances, Catherine Spaak and Marie Dubois are here pushed to the sidelines with flat roles, which to the credit of them both, are given a nervousness that does not come across in the script. Performing his own stunts, Jean-Paul Belmondo gives a fittingly rugged performance as Maillat, whose swagger gets cut down by Belmondo when the bombs land. Filmed on the Bray-Dunes beaches where some Dunkirk evacuations actually took place, director Henri Verneuil & cinematographer Henri Decae charge in with a “Teatime Movie” atmosphere of rattling wide crane shots sweeping along the explosive battlefield. Attempting to turn the mood serious near the end with an attempted rape, Verneuil never fully frees the flick from the Boys Own Adventure setting, (complete with British generals sipping tea) via scenes such as the attempted rape being swiftly moved on for more grand-standing action. Firmly established as a family friend,come on chaps wartime adventure, Francois Boyer adaptation of Robert Merle’s sits utterly at odds with the tone, being most bluntly felt in the swearing dialogue coming across utterly miss-matched to the Teatime spent on a weekend a Dunkirk. |
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Post by manfromplanetx on Aug 27, 2019 20:59:18 GMT
Hi there morrisondylanfan We watched last night and thoroughly enjoyed a fabulous French Classic film treat which was recommended by you La fête à Henriette (1952) Loved the wonderful performances, the imaginative scenarios, the garrulous witty script is a knockout and of course the risque' French film style is way ahead in cinematic daring...  From the opening moments I was struck by the similarities to Alain Robbe-Grillet's excellent Trans-Europ-Express (1966) the scenario here takes place aboard the express train with the director, producer and secretary plotting out a film script with varying scenarios...  |
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Post by mortsahlfan on Aug 31, 2019 14:45:47 GMT
"The Battle of Algiers" is my favorite. I also love "La Grande Illusion", but my favorite French director is easily Robert Bresson. I also like a handful of movies with Jean Gabin, and some with Alain Delon. I really like Patrick Dewaere, and every movie I've seen him in.
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Post by manfromplanetx on Sept 2, 2019 6:25:32 GMT
HI all,since reading about it a few years ago,this has been the Chabrol I've most looked forward to,and it surpassed all expectations. "Dream images belong in dreams,not in real life." The Cry of the Owl (1987) 10 Hi there M DF I am with you all the way here, thanks so much for highlighting this outstanding psychological thriller from Claude Chabrol ... Brilliantly composed and masterly paced the director creates an absorbing taut & strained atmosphere. Not driven with an evocative score, as in Que la bête meure it is the exceptional performances the camera & backdrops which provide that unique Chabrolian unsettling ambience throughout... I cannot understand the low rating and such negative views from some, this is supreme Chabrol. Implausible seems to be the common critique ? however Chabrol a seasoned veteran in the fine art of constructing the entertaining twisting thriller, cannot be dismissed so simply. We found Le cri du hibou to be an absorbing multi layered adult drama, tense right through to last seconds & that background hooting of the owl... 
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Post by hi224 on Sept 2, 2019 6:32:20 GMT
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Post by wmcclain on Sept 2, 2019 11:50:40 GMT
Hard to see how that is. Quoting the wikipedia:
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Post by manfromplanetx on Sept 3, 2019 2:14:01 GMT
La Cage (1963) Robert Darène. This unusual classic drama is a co -production between France and Gabon. Documentary footage opens the tale which looks to be the swearing in of the new President, part of Gabon's 1960 independence ceromony Is it any wonder the meandering story has such a mish-mash of ideas there are eight writers credited... Top billed is Marina Vlady playing Isabelle a mysterious enchanting ethereal beauty, but it is some time before she makes the first of her brief and fleeting appearances. Having studied medicine in France a young doctor Philippe Mory comes back to his native Gabon and takes charge of a vaccination project. He encounters opposition from the superstitious locals and a sceptical jungle hardened white man, Jean Servais. The lush Gabon setting could be but is far from idlylic, using a backdrop of an exploitive forest logging operation, sickening to this veteran forest activist is watching the actual felling of ancient forest giants. We watch in intimate detail the native workers chopping away at a huge buttressed tree sending it crashing to the ground. Brooding Docteur Philippe has been distracted, deservedly so after his mysterious encounters with Isabelle, the main attraction of this interesting but rather silly concoction....  
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Post by morrisondylanfan on Sept 3, 2019 2:29:44 GMT
HI all,since reading about it a few years ago,this has been the Chabrol I've most looked forward to,and it surpassed all expectations. "Dream images belong in dreams,not in real life." The Cry of the Owl (1987) 10 Hi there M DF I am with you all the way here, thanks so much for highlighting this outstanding psychological thriller from Claude Chabrol ... Brilliantly composed and masterly paced the director creates an absorbing taut & strained atmosphere. Not driven with an evocative score, as in Que la bête meure it is the exceptional performances the camera & backdrops which provide that unique Chabrolian unsettling ambience throughout... I cannot understand the low rating and such negative views from some, this is supreme Chabrol. Implausible seems to be the common critique ? however Chabrol a seasoned veteran in the fine art of constructing the entertaining twisting thriller, cannot be dismissed so simply. We found Le cri du hibou to be an absorbing multi layered adult drama, tense right through to last seconds & that background hooting of the owl... It's an absolute delight to read about how you found the Owl to be PlanetX. Going in already knowing how things end,the fact I still became absorbed by it is all thanks to the skills of CC. I was wondering if you found the ending similar to CC's Les Biches (1968)? A film which also features a bloody heap on the floor and a icy ambiguous final note. On the reaction to Owl,like you Man I really don't get it, (esp when compared to some of CC's more iffy offerings which have gotten high praise.)but I'm partly wondering if it has something with the mood Highsmith sets out? (Her cynicism towards the jet-set & murderous bourgeoisie is such a good fit for Film Noir.) I found Michel Deville's take on Highsmith with Deep Water (1981) to be outstanding, but the reviews I read were surprisingly harsh towards it. I actually found out about Owl thanks to reading a old Kim Newman "Video Dungeon" page,where he listed The Cry of the Owl (2009) as one that should have been shown on the big screen. Having now seen both versions, I find the US 2009 take to be a worthy companion, which spent more time on the Robert peeping at Juliette side of the relationship. Letting the owl fly away,I'm also happy to read about how you found La fête à Henriette,I was taken aback by how ahead of its time the film was, with it beating Day For Night by over 20 years. By coincidence,I actually got Trans-Europ-Express (1966) on disc this week,and with scenes from Henriette having oddly come back to mind for past few days,I look forward to catching the Express.
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Post by wmcclain on Sept 5, 2019 14:14:44 GMT
La Vérité (1960), directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot. "The Truth". A young woman is on trial for the murder of her lover. She admits to shooting him. The story is about courtroom procedures and flashbacks showing how it all happened. Will the court find she had reason? It is Brigitte Bardot's job to represent the threat of youth, in this case a young woman who just doesn't fit into accepted public morality. Perhaps we expect the French to be more understanding in matters of youth and passion, but no: just as in America the rigid forces of convention are not having this business of casual sex and the cafe society of the artists. Just flashes of nudity but still racy stuff for 1960. She complains to her musician lover: "Between your music and your mattress I'm suffocating". When broke she turns to prostitution with an American tourist and her friends are not shocked. Sexually free but looking for love: she's easy to exploit. We get a look at the French law courts: - This is an inquisitorial system where the judges are truth-finders and seem to be helping the prosecution more than we are used to seeing in the adversarial system used in the US and UK.
- Look at the size of that courtroom: plenty of space for eager spectators.
- While being held for trial she is guarded by nuns!
Something I noticed: Clouzot is easy to watch. He keeps the visual component of the story moving. He's called the French Hitchcock and he shares with that director the talent of entertaining the eye without distracting it. This is a subtle skill mostly disregarded today. I've been fast forwarding through some modern films while reading the subtitles because there is nothing to see. You wouldn't do that with better directors. A tumultuous production: love affairs, lawsuits, nervous breakdowns, attempted suicides, heart attack, an inside tell-all account sold to the press. Available on Blu-ray from Criterion. 
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Post by morrisondylanfan on Sept 23, 2019 3:33:32 GMT
Hi all,picking up this film after reading about it in Matt Blake and David Deal's great,detailed book The Eurospy Guide, I took a look at the IMDb rating after viewing,and was shocked to see it at a 4.9,esp since this is the most casually fun I've seen the director been. CC rankings from best-worst. This Man Must Die. The Cry of the Owl Hell/L'enfer Line of Demarcation Alice or The Last Escapade Les Biches Code Name: Tiger À double tour Champagne Murders Le Boucher Madame Bovary Comedy of Power La Cérémonie The Girl Cut in Two  Claude Chabrol's Code Name: Tiger (1964) 7 Having the option to take things easy due to only making it because the offer to make the film was the only one to get backing involving him after he had a string of flops, directing auteur Claude Chabrol & his regular cinematographer Jean Rabier cheerfully take the Euro Spy staples,and twist them into the French New Wave from the moment a slide-show on the mission is reflected on the faces of the agents. Displaying a mischievous edge in placing his agent to face off wrestlers and a midget assassin,Chabrol brings his distinctive recurring motifs to the mission, via the karate fighting set-pieces jump-cutting on impact, the real airport location gliding along dissolving zoom-ins on Tiger looking out for assassins,and instead of a funky lair, Chabrol giving the baddie a fully loaded countryside bourgeoisie villa. Handed out the same year Goldfinger pointed at audiences at the top of the box office, Roger Hanin dodges the sophisticated image of 007, for a more brute force, sweaty Euro Spy agent, whilst Daniela Bianchi brings a touch of glamour by going from Bond Girl to Tiger Girl as Mehlica Baskine. Making it a mission to bring Jean Halain’s novel to the screen, Hanin not only stars,but writes the adaptation, which Hanin wisely keeps as a nimble piece of Euro Spy thrills, via Tiger’s continued attempts to keep an ambassador safe,leading Tiger to have to show his claws.
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Post by morrisondylanfan on Sept 23, 2019 3:39:25 GMT
Hi all,being one of the first Bunuel's I've heard of (but have not seen) I decided to finally get round to seeing the movie.  The Diary of a Chambermaid (1964) 9 “They’re better when they suffer,and I like it that way.” With Eng Subs: www.dailymotion.com/video/x2cad1fThe lone occasion he filmed in anamorphic widescreen, co-writer/(with future regular collaborator Jean-Claude Carriere) directing auteur Luis Bunuel & cinematographer Roger Fellous immense the viewer in the Monteil's household from the moment Celestine steps into Bunuel subtly using the format to fill the corners of the screen with the bourgeoisie luxuries the Monteil's posse, tracking over to the garden wall where neighbour Mauger tips rubbish over. Ending the diary by referencing the chief of the Parisian police who prohibited showing his feature debut L'Age d'Or (1930-also reviewed) after fascists destroyed the cinema screening it, Bunuel’s distinctive surrealism deliciously rakes at the polite, moral façade of the Monteil's and their staff,rubbing Rabour’s lust on Celestine’s shiny boots of leather, (with Celestine’s French maid outfit also being pinned with a fetish undertone.) M Monteil’s taking his loveless marriage frustrations out on the killing of small game, which also comes out in Bunuel’s binding of sex and death in slugs crawling up the thighs of a raped/murdered girl,being paired with Rabour’s dying clutching his leather boots. Setting the cleaning of the chamber in the years where the events which would lead to WWII were increasing their grip,Bunuel and Carriere’s adaptation of Octave Mirbeau’s novel, set out the rules of the game in the house as a excellent microcosm of Bunuel’s major themes across his works. cutting down the arrogance of the prim and proper Monteil bourgeoisie in the foul stench of fascist anti-Semitism, (which the writers take great care to be a warning to it happening in the present,from the yells in the dialogue of " Death to the scum",to the walls being plastered with pin-up posters for the “Pure French” military.) to the S&M desires being deep within the foundation of the house and the Monteil’s. Stomping round the grounds with the title of gamekeeper, Georges Geret gives a great, gruff turn as Joseph,whose wrapped in a abrasiveness by Geret that injects Celestine with a simmering doubt over the far-right Joseph not only having the blood of animals on his hands, whilst Michel Piccoli gives a wickedly slimy performance as Monteil,who spills out his anger in bitter,snapping asides that stand at odds with his false gentlemen image. Entering the house as neither a member of the rich or the down-trodden working class round the outskirts of the grounds, elegant Jeanne Moreau gives a fantastic evasive performance as Celestine,thanks to Moreau restraining Celestine from big emotions, instead learning the most intimate details of the family and her fellow staff in a nonchalant state, all put down in the diary of a chambermaid.
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