Huis clos

Directed by the very talented but alas forgotten Jacqueline Audry this is a first class adaptation by her husband Pierre Laroche of Jean-Paul Sartre's play concerning three people who are doomed to spend eternity tearing each other to pieces to atone for their earthly sins. The excellent production design is by Maurice Colasson. The success or failure of this piece will always depend of course on the quality of the cast and the three leading actors do not disappoint.Frank Villard who had twice before worked with Audry is mucho macho as Joseph without being one-dimensional and the wonderfully photogenic Gaby Sylvia as Estelle proves that she is more than just a pretty face. However the film really belongs to Arletty whose fortunes waned after the war for reasons which are well documented and who gives a truly frightening portrayal as Ines. This is her best postwar film role and she plays it with relish. This powerful, menacing and claustrophobic piece serves to remind one of the tremendous influence exerted by Sartre over other dramatists, not least Harold Pinter.

As an existing (and avid) fan of the stage play, I was curious to see how Jean-Paul Sartre's classic dark existentialist comedy would translate to film. Knowing that Mass and Twelve Angry Men are both films I adore that take place essentially in one room, I know that it's possible to achieve such a feat and make it something really special. I admire the directorial decision to have the screen in the room display cinematic representations of the worlds of each character moving on without them, and I think the principal roles of Garcin, Ines, and Estelle were especially well-cast. The cinematography was a touch dry (though feels period-accurate of the mid-50s), but the acting was believable enough and the set design was spot-on. I think, while I understand the intent to create a world existing outside the room to make the work of theatre more cinematic, the opening 10-15 minutes or so felt very slow and superfluous, it didn't add much at all to the existing drama/comedy that comes from the characters interacting.

I do have to wonder if I would've given this a higher score if I had seen the film with English subtitles-the copy I watched was in the film's original French and with German subtitles I couldn't remove.

Not only because of Arletty, the famous.

Not only because of Jacqueline Audry, almost forgotten these days.

But also because of Yves Deniaud, who passed away too early, and seemingly overlooked. Somehow he managed to keep the plot running, the other three in sync. To me he has the traits of a comedian in this movie, an early Coluche.

I found this movie a more pleasant one than the famous stage interpretation by Harold Pinter, probably due to the actual hotel scenes in the beginning. "Hotel California" springs into mind: you can check in anytime, but you can never check out.

...Probably the first important woman director France has ever known.Male chauvinism:her movies are very rarely broadcast on TV and her name is slowly fading.

She often adapted Colette's works for the screen,but here,she tackles Jean-Paul Sartre ,no less!It's the philosopher's most famous drama (with its immortal sentence :"l'enfer,c'est les autres" (= Hell is

other people).Audry had to cope with problems inherent to any adaptation of a play:she succeeded quite good by using flashbacks - like Mankiewicz would do for "suddenly last summer"-,and inventing a very brilliant first scene:Alan Parker might have seen the movie,because he uses the elevator in "Angel heart" (1987)the same way Audry did in 1954.

Most of all,she's got three convincing actors,two of whom are unfortunately forgotten today (Gaby Sylvia was essentially a stage actress and Frank Villard was cast against type here:he was the tough male raider type:but convincing anyway).The third one is none other than the great Arletty:after "les enfants du paradis",like so many others who "collaborated" during the occupation -her only sin was to fall in love with a German:she said afterwards "My heart is French,but my a.. is international!"-she was blacklisted and when she could return,she was relegated to small parts -but she triumphed on the stage notably with the part of Blanche in "streetcar named desire"-."Huis clos" is one of her rare leading parts after the war.She outdoes herself here ,playing lesbian Inès so intensely she's almost frightening and threatening.As historian Jean Tulard said "she was our best actress"

"Huis clos" is really interesting and will reward you if you give it a chance.Three people (alive or dead no matter)tearing each others to pieces.

If you like it,try "les jeux sont faits" another Sartre adaptation by Jean Delannoy