Der Orkan

A simple story. at first sigh, too simple. because it could seems be well known. but not the love story is the axis. but the atmosphere. the performances. the ocean. the mixture of duty, romance and clash against reality. the strange beauty of the meet between Morgan and Gabin after "Quai des brues"). and, sure, the moving end. a film who remains bitter -seductive against the decades. for its remarkable simplicity. for admirable performances. and for reasons escaping to precise definition.

Jean Gabin stars as the captain of a tugboat. On a job, he rescues Michele Morgan. Later, they begin a romance, though Gabin is married to the lovable but perpetually worried Madeleine Renaud. This is a pretty good film, though it has some major flaws. The scenes in the stormy seas (which is what the title literally means) look particularly great for the time. The major flaw, as I see it, is that the relationship between Morgan and Gabin just happens too quickly, and is thus not that believable. In the scenes between Gabin and Renaud, their relationship seems so wonderful and loving that it's hard to believe he'd dump her so quickly - like later the same day, pretty much. The film's finale is quite powerful. The performances throughout are excellent, especially Gabin's. Jacques Prevert co-wrote the script.

Andre Laurent, the captain of a tugboat, married Yvonne ten years ago. She has a heart disease but does not want to tell him. She dreams he quits his job so they can live quietly. One night, during a sea rescue, he meets Catherine. She wants to leave her husband, the captain of the rescued ship.

Jean Grémillon (1901-1959) seems to be a director who knows what he wants. He started this film as the war began (or just prior), and despite France being taken over by Germany, and having to reshoot some footage, he kept at it. And what we get is actually a really good movie. Sometimes I think Criterion releases their eclipse sets just to make a point of saying France, Japan, etc still had movies during World War II, and is not necessarily concerned about how influential or important they may be.

This one looks beautiful and surely had an impact. It reminds me of the sort of cinematography we got from the val Lewton-produced films.

There are films whose production could be a good subject for a film script. One of these cases seems to me to be 'Remorques' (the English distribution title was 'Stormy Waters'). The director of this film was Jean Grémillon, a very interesting filmmaker, a documentarist and a musician as well, an artist involved in the anti-Nazi resistance but also the author of several films produced and distributed during the occupation. These films could be the subject of a case study on the art of cinema under conditions of occupation and war, on the boundaries between dignity and collaboration under conditions of censorship. 'Remorques' is one of them. Filming began in the summer of 1939 and was interrupted by the outbreak of war, when Jean Gabin and other members of the film crew were called up in the army. Continuing in 1940, filming was interrupted again with the fall of Paris, to be completed in 1941. The film was first distributed in occupied France, with the approval of German censorship, although its stars, Jean Gabin and Michèle Morgan had meanwhile taken refuge in America. The international premiere did not take place until after the war, in 1946. Beyond this interesting history, 'Remorques' is a film with many qualities that make it stand the test of time and remain relevant over 80 years after its production.

The screenplay written by André Cayatte and Jacques Prévert, who adapted a novel by Roger Vercel for the screen, offers us a story that takes place on the ocean and on the shores of the (Atlantic) ocean which plays an important role. André Laurent, the film's main hero, is the captain of a tugboat which rescues and tows boats in distress during storms on the ocean. In such a situation, he meets Catherine, the wife of the captain of another ship, who decides to leave her husband. The romance that develops between André and Catherine endangers André's career as a seafarer dedicated to saving others and the marriage to his faithful wife Yvonne.

The romantic story is quite banal, but the film is interesting because of the way it is conceived visually and, of course, by the presence of two of the most formidable French actors of that period. Jean Gabin and Michèle Morgan had already worked together in Marcel Carné's 'Le quai des brumes' and the producers bet correctly by casting the two actors in the main roles. It is fascinating to this day to watch the way close-ups are used to make the characters' feelings cross the screen and the magnetism between them in the scenes where they are together. Jean Grémillon was a very interesting filmmaker, with experience in documentary films. Some of the scenes are shot on real boats and they convey authenticity and drama. The original intention was for most of the filming to take place at sea, but for various reasons, some of the action scenes had to be produced in the studio with miniature models. Too bad. On the other side we can admire the use of mobile cameras in the scenes on the beach or in the city of Brest. Here Grémillon anticipates techniques that would become basic instruments in the toolkits of New Wave directors two decades later. 'Remorques' is a film that bears the mark of the period in which it was made, but which manages to boldly combine cinematic genres. Although made in difficult conditions, it is solid and interesting enough to still be worth watching today.

... from screenwriter Jacques Prevert and director Jean Gremillon. Jean Gabin stars as Andre Laurent, a rescue tugboat captain living and working in a stormy seaside village. He's 10 years married to the pleasant Yvonne (Madeleine Renaud), but he's become a bit bored and complacent with their union. On his latest rescue outing, his crew brings aboard a woman from a stranded ship. Her name is Catherine (Michele Morgan), and she's very unhappy in her marriage with the other ship's captain, a sleazy crook that she has grown to detest. Despite their better judgement, Andre and Catherine begin seeing each other.

Gabin is my favorite actor in French cinema, and this film is another example of why, as he deftly assays his role with a naturalism and honesty that eschews big showy moments but still ably projects the necessary emotion for the scene. Renaud is also good as the fragile wife, and Morgan is outstanding as the woman trapped in terrible circumstances. Director Gremillon shots a number of scenes in a visually striking manner, although the excessive use of obvious miniatures in the ships-at-stormy-seas scenes takes one out of the action a bit. Still, for a film shot over a period of three years due to a world war interrupting things, it's remarkable they accomplished what they did. Recommended.