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Credits
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Summary
Normandy, 1870. A prostitute, Boule de suif, decides to leave France to escape from
the occupying Prussian army. She leaves Rouen and sets off for Le Havre in a stagecoach,
which she shares with a group of bourgeois men and women. When the coach stops
at an inn, a Prussian officer forbids the travellers from continuing their journey until
Boule de suif has spent the night with him. The prostitute at first refuses
to give in to her enemy but, out of kindness to her travelling companions, she acquiesces.
The stage coach does not get much further before it is captured by Prussian soldiers.
The women are taken to the chateau of the sadistic Lieutenant Eyrick...
Review
Based on two of Guy de Maupassant’s short stories, Boule de suif was one of the
first films to be made in France after the Liberation in 1944. Freed from the yoke
of German censorship, director Christian-Jaque made full use of the opportunity to ridicule
the German oppressor, to condemn the hypocrisy of the complacent bourgeoisie and to honour
the spirit of resistance epitomised by the film’s central character, Boule de suif.
Although the film veers to excesses in one or two places, it makes some powerful statements about human nature which the cinema-going public at the time would probably have responded to very favourably. The film is really nothing less than a celebration of the French resistance and an unfettered attempt to ridicule and demonise their former Nazi overlords. The melange of farce and drama which runs throughout the film is entertaining but also unsettling – you never quite know which way the film is going to end until the very last shot (a beautiful scene which brilliantly evokes the mood of the French Nation after the Liberation). Christian-Jaque builds on the caustic humour which is present in Guy de Maupassant’s writings and manages to construct some hilarious comic situations. His portrayal of the Prussian officers is pure caricature but brilliantly realised, thanks to the amusing dialogue and some larger than life performances from the cast (particularly Louis Salou). The film’s darker moments offer a grim reminder of what the French suffered in the previous years. In a way, it was daring for Christian-Jaque to make a film about one period of occupation (the Prussian Occupation of the 1870s) whilst memories of the previous occupation (under the Nazis) was so fresh in people’s minds. The main character of Boule de suif is played by Micheline Presle, an actress of great talent and beauty who had a remarkable film career spanning more than six decades. Presle’s plays the part with great sensitivity and humanity, making her character a perfect symbol for the French ideal and the personification of resistance against an inhuman enemy. © James Travers 2002 Write a review for this film... |
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