La Femme du boulanger
1938 Drama
|
Credits
|
|
|
Summary
A middle-aged man Aimable and his young wife Aurélie decide to settle in a Provençal
village, running the local baker’s shop. A short while later Aurélie
runs of with a young shepherd, leaving her husband broken hearted. Aimable refuses to
make any more bread and the villagers are forced to separate Aurélie from her
new lover and return her to her husband...
Review
La Femme du boulanger is widely considered to be Marcel Pagnol’s best film,
not least because of the unforgettable acting performances from Raimu and Ginette Leclerc.
Based on a novel by Jean Giono, the film is ideal material for Pagnol’s romantic
vision of Provence, with its tightly-knit little communities living in the remote unspoiled
countryside.
Although resorting to caricature in a few places (indeed most of the film's characters are obvious caricatures), this does not undermine the film's dramatic thrust. Only a writer of Pagnol's undoubted talents could manage this without ending up with a weak farce. Raimu, one of the finest French actors of the 1930s, gives one of his most moving performances in this film. Alternately the comic buffoon and the tragic victim, he gives the film its emotional imperative. One of the most popular French films ever to be released in the United States, this is a film that plays perfectly to the emotions without ever appearing sentimentalised or contrived. © James Travers 2001 Write a review for this film... |
|
