Reviews (8)

Lots of Silly Fun!
The whole premise behind the 570 musketeer films that have been released thus far (Dec. 2003) is pretty flimsy, and the premise behind this one is among the flimsiest. BUT--for people who like to watch adventure-comedies in which beautiful women kick butt, this belongs on your shelf beside the CHARLIE'S ANGELS films. The chief advantage this film has over other members of this genre is that it stars the ever-adorable Sophie Marceau. We get to see her fence with evil-doers and have a tender moment or two with her aging father, the famous D'Artagnan. The script is better than average, and the film contains many other scenes that are enjoyable in various ways. Finally, if you happen to like "musketeer films," this one is far better than the half dozen big-budget productions that have come out of Hollywood in the past few years. (Sorry, Leonardo. Yours stank, despite its high-powered cast.)

Revenge of the Musketeers
The comic tone of the film disappointed me. I adore Sophie Marceau, but her talent was unnecessary for this piece. And the needless breast-bearing was insulting. Comedy should be used to tell the story in period films - not be the story. I should have suspected something foul from a film francais with an English title.

Marceau Carries The Day
The spirit of Dumas is alive and well as D'Artagnan and his three legendary companions regroup and once again go forth in defense of the Crown in "Revenge of the Musketeers," directed by Bertrand Tavernier. This time around, however, it's D'Artagnan's daughter, Eloise (Sophie Marceau), who sounds the alarm after witnessing a cold-blooded murder at the convent she has called home these many years, having been raised there while her father was off on one adventure after another in service to the King. And it's the King for whom Eloise is concerned; in the wake of the murder, she has uncovered a conspiracy to assassinate the about-to-be-crowned Louis XIV during his coronation. Her evidence is a cryptic message discovered among the personal effects of the recently deceased resident of the convent. So throwing caution to the wind, Eloise takes to horseback, alone, to seek out her father and inform him of this threat to France and the King. What she doesn't know is that D'Artagnan (Philippe Noiret) has recently withdrawn from the service of the King, and not by his own choosing. It seems that the King-to-be is something of an upstart, the fact of which D'Artagnan conveyed to him personally-- in no uncertain terms-- after which the now former Musketeer retired to private life to give lessons in the art of swordsmanship. All of which is about to change with the arrival of the daughter he hasn't seen for many years, and who to his knowledge is still safely ensconced in the convent.

To successfully present yet another episode of "The Three Musketeers," it must have that certain sense of bold carelessness born of confidence and larger-than-life adventure, and Tavernier's film has it. Though it takes a couple of scenes to find it's legs after an intense opening that makes you sit up and take notice, when it finally kicks in (which it does fairly quickly) it becomes a rousing adventure steeped in the tradition of it's predecessors. And, as in the best of the "Musketeer" movies, it's laced with subtle humor and intrigue. Tavernier sets a pace that is at times inconsistent, but he provides enough action and fun that it can be easily overlooked; it may threaten to stall occasionally, but never actually does.

Philippe Noiret cuts a striking figure as the aging D'Artagnan, who though slowed somewhat by the years, is still one of the best swords around. He successfully embodies that spirit and sense of "legend" that makes his D'Artagnan believable, and delivers it all with the confidence befitting his character.

The highlight of the film, however, is the lovely Marceau, who as Eloise proves that she can cross swords with the best of them. Her technique with a blade may be a bit awkward at times, but it gives credibility to the character; a young woman raised in a convent-- even the daughter of a famed Musketeer-- wouldn't necessarily be a master swordsman. And Marceau gives a lively performance as Eloise, diving into the action with a reckless abandon that makes her endearing, as well as fun to watch. She has a radiant screen presence that draws the eye to her, even in a crowded scene. But what really puts this character across-- and again, the entire film, for that matter-- is that unabashed spirit of adventure, which Marceau manifests in Eloise.

The supporting cast includes Claude Rich (Crassac), Sami Frey (Aramis), Jean-Luc Bideau (Athos), Raoul Billerey (Porthos), Charlotte Kady (Eglantine de Rochefort), Nils Tavernier (Quentin), Luigi Proietti (Mazarin) and Jean-Paul Roussillon (Planchet). Proving that even Musketeers beyond their prime can be engaging, especially when combined with a spirited beauty like Marceau, "Revenge of the Musketeers" is a welcome cinematic chapter in the saga Dumas began so many years ago. In the end, it's a satisfying experience that will transport you to another place and another time, when chivalry was alive and well, and right always triumphed over wrong.

All for One, One for the Ages!
With all due respect to The Three & Four Musketeers of Richard Lester, Revenge of the Musketeers surpasses these and all other Dumas musketeer films ever. This takes into account a lot of movies, from Fairbanks to Walter Abel, the Ritz Brothers, Louis Hayward, Gene Kelly, Hal Roach Jr., Gordon Scott, Louis Jourdan, Cornel Wilde, and lately Leonardo with Gabriel Byrne et al. Never mind Sophie Marceau fencing with the guys with nary a lesson. Sophie's fine. My money's on Sophie over feisty Kim Cattrall of Lester's Return of the Musketeers. It's reverence that really makes Revenge a winner; reverence for Dumas Pere. D'Artagnan first sees his daughter (Sophie) and mistakes her for long-dead Constance. He alludes to the 'Porthos thrust' and the 'Aramis thrust.' Planchet remains addled, and now aged. Porthos can be lured out of retirement with mounds of food. Brooding Aramis as always follows intrigue. Athos says much with few rasping words. They reunite and allude longingly to the old days, and we feel their aches and pains, and smile at inside references to old foes among the Cardinal's guards. Never mind the slow spots and confusing plot machinations. This is Dumas-inspired after all. Just savor the French sensibilities and the gentle mockery of Mazarin, and D'Artagnan spurring his comrades on by saying, 'We can't let Cyrano have all the fun!' Oh yeah, Sophie gets naked, which can't hurt. And the swordplay is excellent, a la William Hobbs. We may never see the likes of this one again. Magnifique one and all!

Marceau shines in respectable swashbuckler
After a slow start, Revenge of the Musketeers (originally released in France as La Fille de D'Artagnan) picks up some dash and humor by the second half and leaves the viewer credibly entertained. There are good performances from all the cast (except a fairly colorless love-interest for Marceau's Eloise), who seem to be enjoying themselves immensely. The lovely Sophie Marceau gets to parade in a variety of flattering cavalier costumes and the villains are full of bravado and duplicity as befits these sort of romps. Messieurs Athos, Porthos, Aramis, and D'Artagnan may be twenty years older than in their heyday, but they still have plenty of fight in them, and when the headstrong daughter of D'Artagnan unmasks a nasty conspiracy -- or IS it? -- they race into action once again for France and King Louis.

The production is top-notch and Marceau's Eloise suitably steals the show, giving perhaps the best swordswoman display since Kim Cattrall's Justine in Richard Lester's "Return of the Musketeers", which this film most resembles. (Close runner-up: Catherine Zeta-Jones in "The Mask of Zorro.") The pace seems less than dynamic, perhaps due in part to the strange lack of a musical score to complement the action -- you'll appreciate just how much the soundtrack can add to a scene when you watch these au naturel fights and duels. But on the whole, this was better than I'd expected and eminently watchable, with a fine spirit that even bursts out of the closing credits. En garde, mes braves! A cheval! (Add an extra star if you truly love films of this genre.) ... Read more

Amazon.com

Like the music it celebrates, Round Midnight is long onatmosphere, short on formal structure, alert and open to improvisation, makingthis 1986 drama the most authentic glimpse of jazz yet filmed. Its subject, DaleTurner (played by Dexter Gordon), is a composite of brilliant but bruised jazzwarriors who left America behind for self-imposed European exile, finding a moretolerant and appreciative audience while never completely eluding their privatedemons. Drugs and drink have battered the tall, laconic saxophonist, whosediffident, somewhat distracted manner only partly conceals a deeper exhaustionas he plays a 1959 engagement in a Parisian club and tries to stay sober. Hisburnished solos drift behind the tempo with a languor that can't be fullyexplained as a point of style. But when an ardent, impoverished French fan(François Cluzet) intercepts his idol and then offers him simple acts ofkindness, the gesture inspires a brief but glowing second wind in the agingmusician, reflected in his playing. Even as the film contemplates Turner'sreturn to his homeland as a portent of his own death, his moments on theParisian bandstand suggest a glimpse of redemption.

If Turner's frail character echoes real-life ex-pats like Bud Powell and LesterYoung, director Bertrand Tavernier's insistence upon casting the role withveteran tenor player Dexter Gordon breathes startling authenticity into thefigure. Gordon's own drug arrests and an extended idyll abroad give him directaccess to Turner's isolation, and Tavernier elicits a natural but compellingperformance that earned Gordon (who died in 1990) an Academy Award nomination.Likewise, the director cast his cinematic band with world-class musicians,including Herbie Hancock, Freddie Hubbard, Wayne Shorter, and Ron Carter, andshot these sequences as live performances. Hancock's score deservedly won bothBritish and American Academy Awards, as well as a French César. --SamSutherland ... Read more

Reviews (29)

Wonderful Film, An Homage to USA Jazz In Paris
The late saxophonist, Dexter Gordon, was absolutely fabulous in this film about an American jazz musician in Paris as the 1950s come to a close. He befriends a young Frenchman who tries to help him but ultimately such friends will always be the givers in a relationship with a jazz artist. There is dialogue in this movie that is always the first thing I remember about it. Gordon's character wonders why people always expect that by escaping to somewhere else, that they will find a new life. "But you're still yourself when you land there," he adds, "You'd have to be a different person inside if you wanted to escape into a new life." These are prophetic words because although race-blind Paris will offer yet another jazz opportunity to this American black musician, he will never escape from himself. He ultimately sees a French psychiatrist when he can't stay away from booze and drugs. "I can't turn off the music in my head," he says, "It is always playing." Perhaps no truer words have ever been spoken by an artist because even those with smaller gifts in the fine arts see images or hear music in their heads. They might be able to turn it off at times but a huge talent won't be able to do so. As they say, there is no free lunch. This film also offers a superb soundtrack that I had to buy upon leaving the movie theater. This is an excellent film where you are justified in owning both the DVD film and the CD soundtrack.

Real emotions from real characters
This touching and realistic movie is quietly dedicated to jazz pianist Bud Powell and saxophonnist Lester Young (both expatiriates who lived in Paris) on whose life the character of "Dale Turner," the saxophonist, is based. The character of Dale Turner, a jazzman in his last days, is played by Dexter Gordon, a jazzman soon to die of throat cancer. Dexter Gordon, a real-life expatriot jazzman who spent much of his playing years in Denmark, deservedly received an academy award nomination for his moving portrayal based on not only a real life story but people and settings with which he was personally familiar. In many ways it is the story of all three musicians, Gordon, Powell and Young. But even more it is based on a fine book on the life of Bud Powell by the young Frenchman who befriended him (which I cannot put my hands on right now). It's as close to truth as you can come. By the way, Dexter played Montreux the next year and while he sounds fragile in the film, he play with great strength.

Gordon rips off Bud Powell
This is a rip off of the Bud Powell story, plain and simple. Francis Paudras was an artist of sorts, similar to the graphic artist in the movie. Francis lived with his girlfriend rather than his daughter. Buttercup was the devil woman in Powell's life, they don't even bother to change the name here. Making money off of the story of Bud Powell without having to pay anyone for it seems ridiculous to me. If you want the real story behind this movie, read "Dance of the Infidels: A Portrait of Bud Powell", written by Paudras himself. The book, while tedious at times, is drenched with the emotion of a truly heartbreaking story, rather than this cheap ripoff.

Friendship, music and far too much whisky
This movie stars Dexter Gordon and features among others Herbie Hancock, Billy Higgins, John McGlaughlin, Wayne Shorter, Tony Williams, Freddie Hubbard and Ron Carter. If you like jazz that's probably all you need to know to make you go see it.

It's a loving recreation of Paris in the 1950s when many of the best American jazz musicians liked to hang in and around the Blue Note café, a venue which, if I only had a time machine is probably where I would most want to spend my evenings. There we find Dale Turner (Gordon) who is in France playing his tenor and drinking himself to death. Turner is based on a kind of amalgam of Bud Powell and Lester Young. His self-destructiveness and bizarre speech habits (all his male friends are nicknamed "Lady" something or other) are pureYoung. The friendship with a young Frenchman Francis (Francois Cluzet) with forms the film's dramatic centre is based on an episode in the life of Powell.

Cluzet's character is perhaps one of the weaker aspects of the film. His conversations with Turner are a bit unsuccessful in getting very far past fanspeak, You are so wonderful, I love your music so much, etc., etc., which I confess I started finding a little tiresome. But generally it's a really delightful movie and one it is possible to enjoy even if you aren't a jazz nut.

But the music is certainly a huge treat. The scene where Gordon and Lonette McKee's Darcey Leigh (clearly based on Billie Holiday) perform "How Long Has This Been Going On" is one of the most unforgettable and mesmerizing musical moments in any film.

Music aside, it's a rather quiet, low key drama about how Turner befriends Francis and his young daughter who must then struggle to help him control the drink habit which is inexorably killing him. It's fairly slow moving. Not a lot happens. But it's a touching and likeable movie, slow and tender like much of its soundtrack, and is kept interesting mainly by Dexter Gordon's marvellous performance as Turner, a heartbreaking mixture of poetry and kindness on the one hand and hopeless alcoholic desperation on the other. He acts almost as well as he plays and he plays, well, he plays like Dexter Gordon.

Jazz anyone?
Being a sax player, I was completely sucked in. It's one
of my favorites. It's a slow-paced movie, but the acting is
exellent and it's very real. ... Read more

Description

An inspired rendering of Jim Thompson's pulp novel Pop. 1280, Bertrand Tavernier's Coup de torchon (Clean Slate) deftly transplants the story of an inept police chief- turned-heartless killer and his scrappy mistress from the American South to French West Africa. Featuring pitch-perfect performances by Philippe Noiret and Isabelle Huppert, this striking neo-noir straddles the line between violence and lyricism with dark humor and visual elegance, perfectly captured by Criterion's glorious new anamorphic transfer. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

good scenery, but not very interesting.
This review is for the Criterion Collection DVD edition of the film.

Coup de Torchon, known also as "Clean Slate" is better translated as "Wipe of the Cloth" as a cloth would clean a slate chalkboard.

This film is set in the year 1938 on the eve of World War II and is about a recist white policeman in Senegal, (then called French West Africa) who always looks the other way when a crime is committed. One day he goes berserk and starts killing people.

I found this movie to be boring but loved the scenery of the village.

The DVD has a US theatrical trailer for a special feature along with an interview with the director and an alternate ending presented by the director.

A rare blending of genres that nets profound results
Very unusual movie. I was unprepared for such a strange story. Only after the movie was over did I glimpse Jim Thompson's name in the credits and it dawned on me so that is what I have been watching. Thompson's name is synonymous with hard-boiled noir and if you like that genre then this is for you though the setting will throw even the most ardent noir fan for a bit of a loop. Noir in Africa? Phillips Noiret plays the sherrif of a West African town in the thrall of the worst kind of colonialism. Unforunately he's not much of a law and order man. In fact he is completely ineffective at administering any kind of justice whatsoever. Blacks are brutally mistreated right in front of him and he does nothing. Hes the sherrif only in name and at home he is abused by his wife played by Stephane Audran who does not hide the fact she is sleeping with her live-in "brother". The sherriff takes all kinds of abuse til one day he reaches his breaking point. He decides he's had enough and so he begins administering his own brand of "justice". In a western movie or in a gritty American noir this kind of scenario would seem commonplace but not in the middle of sunny Africa. Noirs aren't supposed to be exposed to sunlight, are they? The novel was set in the American South but Tavernier decided he would transplant the story in African soil. Its a film that is hard to fathom. I believe it takes at least one viewing to get used to the idea of an African Noir and then another to see just what Tavernier is up to. So I would highly recommend anyone see the film twice before making up their mind about it. One thing is undoubtedly certain and that is the acting. The performances by Noiret, Audran, and Isabelle Huppert(one of her most stunning vacant faced roles) are perfect and the most fascinating aspect of the film is watchng each unwind. Even those who don't normally have a taste for noir will find this very dark comedy quite compelling. On first viewing I felt there was something missing like at least one strong black character but then I realized on second viewing that that is part of the power of this comedy. These characters are so selfish it matters very little to them where they are. And so the abscence of black characters and the abscence of any interaction between whites and blacks except on the most superficial and degrading terms underlines the utter selfishness of the whites. The blacks going about their business largely ignored by the whites offer a subtle comparison. The blacks live humane lives. The whites are only capable of committing crimes against each other. If you are part of the white community in such circumstances you become corrupt if not for what you yourself do for what you refuse to see as the underlying injustice of the circumstance you see and participate in everyday. The circumstance is a timebomb. Noiret as the sherrif is the one who goes off. He acts out against white hate and anger and bigotry only to become infected himself by those very properties. So at first I was unsure but ultimately I marveled at what Tavernier did with this noir material. He gave the material the very dimension it lacked, a social dimension. By placing this noir in a strikingly new context the typical noir theme (being the darkness of human nature) is given a more specific context and scope (the darkness of colonial mans nature). Tavernier brings new life and significance to the commonplaces of Thompsons fiction and more importantly he brings a new approach and new insight to the colonial predicament.

un-american
I am mainly disappointed with the Yank reviews - did they read Jim Thompson at all? Yeah - the PULP FICTION movie is great for them but not the real "pulp fiction". It would be a surprise if Tavernier did a "Martin Eden" or "Iron Heel" and folks would label it "pulp fiction" as well. How about "Les Miserables", huh ? A pulp fiction ? Let's go on and on...
Get fiction in the wrong hands and you have a disaster right away, say Sir Spielberg, as an example, he's the master of the "hokey", lately.
This film proves the ages old wisdom that good films are made of mediocre novels, like "The Informer", "The Shop on Main Street" etc., while the great script of classical "belles lettres" remain beyond reach of the infantile contemporaries.

Uneven But Good Night's Viewing
Philippe Noiret generally did an outstanding acting job in all the films I've seen him. This one is no exception. Bertrand Tavernier is also one of my favorite directors. Novelist Jim Thompson wrote great noir dramas. Putting the three of them together was a great idea even though the whole thing was moved to Afica, which none of the three had in their background. Isabelle Huppert, an actress I don't like, is in the film also but she plays someone that is disliked and avoided by her husband (Noiret) too so she was ok here. Noiret plays policeman Lucien Cordier, who is weak and easily corruptible. He has no one's respect. Just as the viewer is about to feel some sympathy towards him, however, he becomes the ultimate bad guy, solely driven by gaining revenge against everyone in his world. The film is almost too successful in that by the end of it I have had it with Noiret's character, his world, Africa and the whole story. I think it overplayed its hand. But most of the way through it is very enjoyable viewing and it is certainly worth an evening's viewing at home.

TERMINATORIX
When they are on location, film directors usually tend to forget the actors in order to become for a while only still photographers. If James Bond is in Paris, one can be sure to enjoy a free guided tour of the city including the Eiffel Tower, Les Champs-Elysées and l'Arc de Triomphe. So, when one reads that the story of french director Bertrand Tavernier's COUP DE TORCHON is happening in the French West Africa of 1938, wild images begin to fly through the movie lover's anxious mind : elephants, lions, snakes, Tarzan, glorious sunsets and other african clichés suddenly make their appearance in front of his very eyes.

But amateurs of touristic trips will be very disappointed with Tavernier's use of african landscapes. The director is even playing with us in the scene involving the french rock singer Eddy NONO Mitchell standing on his bed because something is moving under his bed. We are all waiting for a snake, a scorpion or a colourful spider to burst out while the dangerous animal is finally described as a vulgar night butterfly that the director doesn't even judge necessary to show to the audience. Bertrand Tavernier is not following the usual codes of the genre and is saying it.

In fact, Bertrand Tavernier doesn't follow any codes in COUP DE TORCHON. The main character, Philippe LUCIEN CORDIER Noiret, is presented as a weak corrupted policeman despised by the local bad boys. Once he has earned a bit of our sympathy, he turns into a machiavelic no-law madman driven by revenge. The last scene of COUP DE TORCHON deserves to stay in movie history : Philippe Noiret, by the sole power of his eyes and gestures, makes us understand that he has become completely mad.

So why Africa ? For its strange atmosphere, for its heat, for its colours. Bertrand Tavernier explains it very clearly during the interview you will find as extra-feature with this Criterion release. An alternate ending, not very convincing, is also presented as well as the american trailer of this 1981 movie which, in my opinion, is a masterpiece.

A DVD for your library. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Critics CAN make good movies.
Former film critic Bertrand Tavernier's debut film from 1973, *The Clockmaker*, still stands as one of the best French films of the Seventies -- a decade that saw some pretty damn good French films. (The two intervening decades between then and now cannot make that claim.) Based on a novel by Simenon, the screenplay was written by Tavernier along with New Wave veterans Jean Aurenche and Pierre Bost -- hence the occasional New Wavey jump-cuts and mannerisms, especially early in the film. But Tavernier -- a writer, after all -- soon calms down and does what all good writers do, which is to focus on character. He's helped considerably with this by two tremendous performances from Philippe Noiret as the titular clockmaker and Jean Rochefort as Lyons' chief police detective. Transplanted from the New York setting of Simenon's book to Lyons during "the last days of De Gaulle" (to quote the review below mine), the story is about the befuddlement of the town's widowed clock repairman whose grown son has apparently murdered a man. The son is on the lam with his girlfriend, leaving the father with no comprehension of why they did it. We soon learn that he has no comprehension of his son, period, despite the fact that the son still lives at home and that they are on relatively good terms. But "good terms" are not the same thing as involvement, knowledge, or caring. (Deftly, Tavernier makes a political parallel to the main plot with an interweaving theme about France's government during this period: French citizens are, according to the radio, "89% happy", but at the same time there are leftist insurgents and terrorists burning cars and striking factories.) The most interesting conflict in this character study is between Noiret and Rochefort's compassionate detective on the case: Rochefort, having an adult son of his own that he hardly knows, latches onto Noiret, perhaps hoping that the clockmaker's experiences in this awful situation might provide some insights for his relationship with his own kid. The main suspense in this "thriller" is whether or not Noiret will allow himself to be taken under the cop's wing. His son may get a lighter prison sentence as a result, but the compromises entailed in not standing by the kid will only widen the distance between them. So . . . an action-adventure about lovers on the lam? Hardly. Tavernier is interested in the deeper stuff. *The Clockmaker* is a difficult, thoughtful, emotional film that deserves wider recognition on this side of the pond. This DVD release from Kino will hopefully get that process started.

Tender Story of Parental Love and Liberation
Noiret is superb in the role of a (single) father who quietly works towards reconciliation with his son, after adolescence and differences in their characters have put distance between them, when the son is charged with murder of a factory worker. Rochefort's (the cop) performance complements Noiret's. The main theme, exquisitely developed, is the challenge of authenticity in the love between parents and children; political alienation of the French working class people in the last days of DeGaulle is the (perhaps allegoric) secondary theme. ... Read more

Description

Bertrand Travernier's magnificent portrait of French family life on the brink of World War I. Alive with the subtle brush strokes of an artist at the top of his form, Travernier's acclaimed "A Sunday in the Country" is a lovingly photographed and exquisitely acted portrait of the Ladmiral family at the beginning of the twentieth century. Based on the novel by Pierre Bost, "A Sunday in the Country" becomes an Impressionist painting in itself, mirroring the Ladmiral patriarch's trade. The film is a moving picture of the hopes, disappointments, and small joys of family as a father's life reaches its autumn season. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

French Family in Nature
The film is breathtakingly beautiful making me wish to spend time in the country in France. In an old quaint house surrounded by nature. You can almost smell the fresh air and the appertifs they sip under the portico with the trees rustling in the breeze. The movie centers around the aging patriarch of the family. His wife has passed on and he keeps his lonliness at bay with the help of a housekeeper and his consistant Sunday visits from his ploddingly staid son and wife, two grandboys who much rather play together than be with the adult and one granddaughter who seems somewhat shy and clinging toward her mother. The daughter in law seems also somewhat ordinary with a need for chruch and religion in her life. Than in comes his other child, a daughter, quite the opposite of her brother, full of life, passion and a great desire for the country. She has brought her auto, which was a big thing. The movie is set in pre-WW1 France. I forgot to mention the main character paints, he seems to paint alcoves of the room, pieces of furniture, indoors kind of stuff. The daughter wakes him up out of his complacency, also waking up the rest of the Sunday family visitors. She gets them out of their lethargy and moves them to action. She is the first to leave but her prescence lingers. When the movie ends you have a strong feeling that the main character has made a shift from painting only objects that grace his indoor sanctuary.
Lisa Nary

DVD is easier to watch
I'm very happy to find this on DVD. I am older, and my eyes aren't as good as they used to be: the higher quality of this DVD really makes the difference.

A Visual Feast
This is a lovely film. I warn you that some may find it too slow because it takes a very painterly look at the microcosm of this aging man's world. If you can lose yourself in the art of it though, the pace will be just right. One of the people I saw this film with in the theater found it very depressing because of the old age approaching death aspect. Although the elderly painter is certainly moving in that direction, this film is much more about how his art is integral to his life and how his family fits into this scheme when they visit him one Sunday in his country studio and home. If you are an artist or art lover, you will adore this film for the visual feast that it is.

Classic French Film
Just want to corroborate what the earlier 2 reviews state and to add that on the dvd is an audio commentary track by the director, a fact I had not seen published anywhere and did not actually discover until I purchased the dvd. Lovely transfer, lovely film.

One of the most beautiful motion pictures ever made.
Every frame of this film is like watching an Impressionist canvas in motion. This gentle, poignant character study of an elderly painter in the early 1900s is packed with beauty, insight and three-dimensional characters. Louis Ducreux, a French stage star who made his movie debut here at age 73, is subtle, compelling and deeply moving, as are the rest of the actors. The exquisite sound track (based mostly on the chamber music of Gabriel Faure) enhances the sunny yet wistful tone of the film. It's defintely not a movie for thrill-seekers, but for those seeking a two-hour vacation in a slower, gentler and lovelier world, it's a gem. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Unknown Classic of WW1
This little known movie deserves greater noteriety. For one thing it shows a different aspect of WW1. The Balkan Front. Here was a somewhat more fluid campaign and the fact that it is depicted shows that the director wanted to provide a different perspective of the war. Everything as far as equipment and uniforms goes is super-accurate. Even the French Infantry uniforms are shown to be khaki-green instead of the standard blue-grey that they wore on the Western front.

The battle scenes are chaotic and confused and show the ironies of war. The character of Conan is fascinating. He thrives on war. As he once says to his friend Norbert "you are a soldier, but I am a warrior". An important distinction as it turns out. It's interesting to see that the French also employed Stosstroopen tactics like the Germans did. Admittedly these same even more unconventional than the standard. At times Conan's "Attack Group" seems more like WW2 commandos than WW1 trench raiders. I wonder if the director went a little over- board in trying to show Conan's unconventional tactics. Still, the poertrayal seems to work and we get to see that Conan's men are fierce in their unconventional ways. This is contrasted by his friend Norbert who is an effective leader of men in the standard infantry tactics of the war. The friendship between these two in post war Bucherest is meant to show their contrast of character. The fact that the war ends before half the movie is over might seem odd, but the conflict is really between Conan and the French military.

This movie is rich with minute details, and the picture qaulity is often quite dark. Turn up your brightness on this one! While intended to show a period feel, the dark scenes while effective in the movie theater, come off badly on the video screen.

The French military gets lambasted in this movie. Every French officer above captain seems interested only in the next meal, and can provide endless details on how certain dishes should be cooked, but otherwise cares little about the welfare of their men. Norbert and Conan are noteable exceptions in an otherwise inept French officer corps. One wonders how the French accomplished anything with officers like this. Conan's comment that many participated in the war, but only a few actually fought it seems apt as far as the French army goes.

The movie is slow and tedious at times, but all the while it is providing a careful character study of Conan. We see him in war and peace. At one point the movie takes on the character of a murder film almost! The final battle scene in 1919 is fascinating. The Soviets were just beginning to expand after their Revolution and the use of French troops to guard the Balkan border is little known. Another fascinating aspect about this movie. The river raid staged by the Russians explodes into a real heavy fire-fight where we again see the contrasting styles of how Conan and Norbert lead and fight. With the bloody repulse of the Reds at the last minute we see Conan finally lose it as he realizes the war is truly over for him.

The final scene some years after the war brilliantly shows how peace has affected both men. Norbert seems to thrive while Conan's health is rapidly going. This great movie is not your standard war movie. While concerned with war, and is more a chartacter study of what war does to men's souls. It is a fascinating work and deserves to be right up there with "Paths of Glory" and other WW1 epics. Those wanting an unconventional war movie can't go wrong here. This is a French movie that is really worth something for a change.

Warrior and the Poet
This film comes at you like a sneak attack. The central character Conan is always on the move and this film does not bother with formal introductions, we get to know Conan by watching him do what he does best--he leads a select band of men who make guerilla raids often at night sneaking up on the enemy then surprising them with a volley of grenades and then while the enemy is still in shock they rush at them and finish them off with knives. The fighting is absolutely brutal and Conan as his name suggests is an absolute brute but for this time and place he is just what is needed to make the difference. Conan instinctively understands tactics which combined with his instinct for killing makes him the most valuable player on whatever front he is on. He is respected by both his subordinates and his superiors. So long as there is war Conan performs like a man made for such a task. As the war ends Conans band of fighters do not take well to the transition to civilian life where petty authorities(in most cases men who never saw any action)call all the shots and reap all the rewards. In war things were quite clear and the band of fighters knew what they were good at and they were admired for doing it but in peacetime the army has no more use for them. Many of the men in Conans band were recruited from prisons and in peacetime many of them return to their criminal ways. Tavernier is doing several things at once with this film. He is telling the story of Conan himself but using the story to illustrate large social themes. Tavernier loves Conans earthiness and through him we experience the exileration of life being lived with a kind of barbaric lust. There is something of the French love for the Noble Savage in Taverniers depiction of this warrior but he shows the "Savage" in Conan is not always "noble". In fact as a contrast Tavernier gives us a character who has all the lofty attributes that earthy Conan lacks in Norbert who in civilian life was a literary professor. One man shines during wartime, the other will shine in times of peace. Their curious friendship underlines the many sides of human nature. The two men are fascinated with each other as they are such opposites. Conan is the man who did heroic things on the battlefield and is absolutely inept and unfit for life during peacetime and Norbert is the man who sees through the word "heroic" to the real story of the man capable of doing such things. Norbert both admires and is repulsed by Conan. Both men share a hatred for hypocrisy in all its forms. Norbert voices his disgust with words while Conan knows only how to vent his rage by killing(often one imagines he is channeling rage directed at his own superiors toward the enemy and it is a fierce rage indeed). Both men are however in some ways fighting the same battle. Tavernier's vision of civilization is that it is hopelessly hypocritical and compromised. With these two characters he gives us two possible reactions to that state of things-- Conan earthy simplicity only capable of expressing itself with violent outbursts and highly educated Norberts lofty attempts to reconcile mans conflicted state by understanding it. This is as exciting as any war movie and yet deep as any novel. Highly recommended you view this more than once.

The Kind of Guy Who Lives For War
Capitaine Conan is an interesting French-language war film that focuses on the role of the hero in war and peace. The title character is a proven combat leader who has risen from the ranks and leads a small commando-type unit to spearhead trench assaults. Conan does not fit anyone's image of a military hero; he is not handsome, debonair or a macho Rambo-type. Even the other French regular army officers only grudgingly accept this sloppy and ill-uncultured fellow in their mess. Yet on the battlefield, Conan is in his element, cutting throats and smashing faces. The film captures the hard-nose mentality that arose among the fittest of the combatants after four years of brutal fighting. Unlike other officers, Conan leads from the front and participates in killing the enemy, which gains him the respect of his troops, if not his peers. In the most telling remark of the film, Conan remarks to his more conventional friend, Lieutenant Norbert, that, "millions were in the [First World] war, but only a few thousand actually fought in it."

The film is set on the obscure Salonika front in 1918, with the French trying to break through the crumbling Bulgarian defenses. In one action, there is an interesting contrast between the adroit commando tactics of Conan's unit versus the costly frontal assault methods of other French infantry units. After the armistice, which arrives about one-third through the film, the French troops remain in the Balkans as occupation troops. In one final fling, Conan's troops are even involved in repulsing a Bolshevik Russian raid across the Romanian border. The one other really telling scene in the film occurs at the end, when Lieutenant Norbert tracks down Conan years later, in civilian life. While Norbert is flourishing, Conan is a shadow of his former self, slowly dying of cancer. Of course, the director infers that the absence of war and the status he derived as a military hero is what is actually devouring Conan. There is nothing particularly new in this film, but it does an effective job of portraying the kind of gritty characters that thrive on war, in comparison to the vast majority of people who shrink from its horrors.

Slow but powerful WWI drama
This film's virtues have been well documented by the previous in depth review. I found this movie slow at times, which can be unfortunatly discouraging to those not completely captivated by the time period. The concept for the film is excellent and the characters well rounded and believable. To those interested in the World War I Stormtrooper style forces (most armies took some of their finest men to be trained as commandos to spearhead offensives and during stalemates especially, to make lightning assualts on enemy trenches at night to stab, toss grenades, and nab prisoners) this movie is a rare place to see them on film. This film opens with one of these such chaotic night assaults by the French under Conan. This skill executed by these soldiers under fire is nothing short of amazing, but the film captures the twin edged, tragic swords of what war turned them into. While able to rise to any occasion of combat in wartime, they are totally unable to adapt when it is over. Few war movies besides this one take the fascinating angle of chnonicallying the aftermath, the tragedy of those who become at war with peace.

Best film of the '90s hands down; Tavernier Rocks!
Tavernier is probably the greatest film artist working in the world today, and, yet one of the most misunderstood. Why? Because what he has to say is not only highly original and important, getting viewers to re-examine seemingly impenetrable myths, outmoded illusions and patterns of ritual and communication within society in order to evolve healthier ones in their place, but he often packs it all into a deceptively simple, almost B-movie-like format with feisty, energetic characters that tend to entertain people a little too much in ways not easily associated with 'profoundity .' Since 1973's "Clockmaker" (arguably the best adaptation of a Simenon novel ever), and notwithstanding "DeathWatch," (which cheaply squanders its fantastically relevant premise about 'Reality Television' and great performances from Romy Schneider and Harvey Keitel) and the fluff-exercise of "D'Artagnan's Daughter," his films have always been subtly spectacular for anyone willing to pay attention, but with Capitaine Conan he has really outdone himself (deservedly winning the Cesar for best director).

As a further refinement to the thematic begun with "Life and Nothing But," "Capitaine Conan" expresses a different side of Tavernier's view of how war is not something that goes away at peace-time, but on the contrary, merely an extreme expression and cathartic resolution of all the contradictions, animosities, suspicions, injustices and hypocrisies that seeth under the surface during 'peacetime,' and once more reestablish their old patterns insidiously once the war 'ends.'

Using weathered, almost time-warped Roumanian locations, cinematographer Alain Choquart achieves a truly awe-inspiring look: most of the shots are made using a complex lighting scheme (and later film-stock manipulation to achieve the deep blacks) that nevertheless gives the impression of only available light being used (the light available given the circumstances of the scene if you were actually there in as authentically imagined a war-zone-1918 as possible). As a result, the film looks uniquely dark and shadowy in the night scenes--almost painted on film through a thin layer of distancing, mythic mist in the day scenes. This takes some getting used to, and people conditioned to being spoon fed every scene mega-lit will definitely be disoriented, but the atmosphere achieved far outweighs the negatives. Some shots are kept in total darkness with barely a face showing to indicate who's talking to who! Then the people gradually come out into different shades of light, each shift in the color balance more nuanced than the next.

Tavernier structured the fact-based plot only as the reality-anchored pretext which will allow him to go as deeply as possible into his existential obsessions about the human condition. The layered details and nuances is where the true art of Tavernier lies hidden. The acting from the awesome leads of Phillipe Torreton (a richly deserved Cesar award for best actor), Le Bihan, and Le Coque, down to the smallest bit player is uniformly brilliant (the 'fleshing out' of any given person on the screen, along with the whole implied history that goes with it, is achieved almost instantly, with or without any dialogue).

Like Kubrick's "Paths of Glory," "CC" is only incidentally an historically based war epic (it covers a forgotten chapter of French Army history in World War I, when certain squadrons were kept fighting long after the war officially ended). It is mainly about the thin and precariously balanced area called 'amorality,' that free-for-all zone of those who know the 'real deal' and refuse to be duped, even if it means messing with evil. In a war-time situation 'amorals' of the perfectly shaded 'moral middle gray' tend to do well for themselves and advance far faster than in civilian life where opportunities for 'ruthless expression' are harder to exploit. Conan, a tough special forces officer whose group makes sneak attacks on the enemy and kills at knife-point, is that perfect 'amoral' character or 'anti-hero', i.e., that guy (or gal) who sometimes does 'evil' things, but manages to justify and fuse this within a higher integrity that seems, if not exactly 'good,' then at least somewhat admirable, because it shows true guts in facing the harshest that life offers head-on. Lt. Norbert is the more traditionally 'moral' man who comes to admire Conan's skill at operating rather openly in that precarious zone against the hypocrisies of his superiors (which keep them well-protected and in power) while managing to show unmatched bravery and leadership during battle. When Conan comes to defend a few of his men who have clearly gone over the line and committed atrocities which must be punished, Norbert, given the job of prosecuting, makes his position clear and breaks with him. All through the film he tries to become more like Conan and yet stays wary of the line Conan could easily cross into outright criminality and fanaticism, like Kurtz in "Apocalypse Now." What draws Conan and Norbert together is their common integrity against the hypocrisies of society (made even more glaringly obvious by the behavior of their war-time superiors) as opposed to Lt. De Sceve, the other main character, who's an honorable soldier, but an establishment man who sees strength in an essentially fascist attitude.

"Capitaine Conan," never got the distribution it should have in the U.S. I would conjecture that not 1 out of a 100 people who've seen Spielberg's melodramatic "Saving Private Ryan" has even heard of "Capitaine Conan." A damn shame! They missed the greatest film of the '90s! It's out on DVD, so call your video store, demand that they carry it, so that you can rent it! Or better yet, just buy it from Amazon; if you're a true film fan, there isn't a chance in hell you'll be disappointed.

About the DVD: Kino have done a fair job transferring the film, and the one hour documentary included, by Nils Tavernier, on the hellish anxiety his dad went through making his masterpiece in Roumania is excellent, much more illuminating than any 'audio commentary' could have been, but tell me WHY IS THERE NOT A REMOVABLE SUBTITLES OPTION?! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Required Viewing!
Now and then brave directors and producers gather their courage and create a film that carries a profound message and seem to be concerned not about the glitz and glamour of their product, but about the impact it has on its audience. The French film IT ALL STARTS TODAY is such a movie.

Briefly stated, the story deals with a committed kindergarten school teacher/director whose pupils are for the most part from homes of poverty, where obtaining an education is unwillingly pushed into the 'luxury' status of adults who are jobless, emotionally damaged, and otherwise unable to nurture the children they have brought into the world. The school is a haven where excellent, warm teachers and staff provide not only inspiration to the mind but at time the only food the children can access. The director struggles with the mayor, the social workers, the System - all frustrating to the point of denying even the most basic essentials needed. When despite all of the loving attention showered on these children, one particularly needy child/family succombs to the social distress of need and the ensuing family suicide sparks the director and his staff to fully commit to the ideals they have been tempted to abandon. The result is an ingenious one that involves students, teachers, parents and neighborhood in a celebration to conquer the grief that threatened to destroy the school's mission. With a cast as sensitive as any ever assembled (including some of the most endearing small children ever photographed!), this movie strikes a blow at governmental insensitivity to the plight of the poor while genuinely and without maudlin overtones demonstrating the difference committed educators make. There are enough side stories of love interest and incidents to prevent this potentially heavy-handed topic from becoming burdensome: preachy it is not. The message comes from the heart and because of the tender understatement of the director's technique, IT ALL STARTS TODAY becomes part of your heart and your belief in the potential goodness of mankind. The film is in French with easily readable English subtitles and the DVD gives biographies on the main people involved in the creation of the project that help flesh out the reasons for making the movie.

I cannot urge you strongly enough to PLEASE see this film. ... Read more