Quatorze Juillet

Jean and Anna are young and in love. They spend Bastille Day together trying to dance the night away, trying to get in a kiss or two. Things keep getting in the way though, funny things like the rain, the whim of the band that's playing, and the stuffy old woman walking around. Unfortunately, when Jean returns home, his ex-girlfriend is waiting for him on his bed. Misunderstandings ensue, and it's not worth ruining by revealing all the wonderful things that happen through the rest of this film. I love À nous la liberté and Le million a lot, but neither of them reach the emotional peaks of Quatorze Juillet. It's still just as humorous as the other two, perhaps more so, but neither of them moved me like this one. It's not a musical, but it is imbued with very beautiful music. It's a magical film, one of the best ever made. Annabella, who also starred in Le million, is back as Anna in this one. 10/10.

This is what they used to do every year in Paris, to celebrate their National Day (Bastille Day), the 14th of July. In thousands of streets all over the city, lights would be strung up, bunting would appear, French flags however small would protrude from windows. And for the nights of the 13th, 14th, and 15th, they would dance to small bands in the streets all night long, sometimes drinking continuously and not sleeping at all for the whole of that time. One reads about it in the books and memoirs of the period. Not that I ever saw it myself, of course, nor is there I suppose anyone alive today who can say he or she really did it. It was one of the many aspects of Paris life which died with the Nazi invasion in 1940 and never came back. But here it is, in all its glory, a whole film of it, directed by the inimitable René Clair. There are several laugh out loud moments in this film, and many tragic ones as well. Clair portrays a tapestry of life as it was lived in the streets at that time, with the naughty urchins laughing and running about with no traffic to deter them, the flower girls, the arguing taxi drivers, the snobs, the poe-faced matrons, the wicked concierges, the cleaners, the café owners, the bar girls, and the Apaches who are stealing wallets and getting up to no good. People laugh, people cry, hearts are broken, and then mended again. The beautiful Annabelle plays the character Anna with great charm. She starred in so many notable films, not least the great classic HOTEL DU NORD (1938, see my review). As is usually the case, Clair over-does the music on the sound track, like someone putting far too much icing on a cake which is already sweet enough. But then, who can complain of such a small fault when this is a film so delightful, amusing and full of life and charm? And by watching it we can see the lost pleasures and pain of the celebrating Paris crowds of yesteryear dancing the nights away in their annual Gallic carnival atmosphere of gaiety and innocent abandon, an era of simple pleasures which shall never come again.

Ebert characterized films with "idiot plots" as those "containing problems that would be solved instantly if all the characters were not idiots." Clair seems to love the Parisian types he depicts, though they are barely functional and knee-jerk belligerent. There's never an attempt at resolving a misunderstanding or solving a problem - well, perhaps sometimes, but only as a last resort. And yet Parisian life and love perseveres, and this is Clair's big statement. One that I found aggravating, as the film is overloaded with loud, stupid noise and senseless arguing. Ha Ha. Meanwhile, the thin thread of a romantic plot is overwhelmed by Clair's exaggerated focus on Parisian cultural dysfunction leaving me annoyed and dissatisfied. Clair's drunken millionaire is clearly borrowed from Chaplin's City Lights (1931), and this was made before Modern Times (1936), often cited as being Clair-inspired. Coincidentally, Paul Ollivier, with white hair and a black mustache is the spitting image of Chaplin's stage character in Limelight (1952).

There have been inevitable comparisons to 'Le Million' and 'A Nous La Liberte' discussing 'Quatorze Juillet'. One can completely understand those comparisons, they and this were all directed by the talented Rene Clair, this starred those films' two lead actors Annabella (for 'Le Million') and Raymond Cordy ('A Nous La Liberte') and all are early talkies (and three of the better efforts). One of the differences though being that there is less of a musical element to it.

'Quatorze Juillet' is on an equal level to 'Le Million' and slightly better than 'A Nous La Liberte'. All three are fantastic though. Is this as technically innovative as those two? Yes. But it is absolutely as charming, perhaps the most charming and emotionally impactful of the three, lovely to watch and entertaining as them. It is sad that it is not as well known, it absolutely deserves to be more famous as to me it is one of Clair's best early films and one of his best overall.

Like the other two, 'Quatorze Juillet' looks wonderful, again not as technically innovative as 'Le Million' and 'A Nous La Liberte' but every bit as ambitious and accomplished. Paris is lovingly created and the editing and transitions are seamlessly fluid but the star is the photography, absolutely dazzling and with some of the best use of long tracking shots of any early talkie.

Clair's direction is immaculate visually and on the dramatic front, the film never losing its energy. Maurice Jaubert's score is graceful, nostalgic and whimsical, personally don't it was over-scored at all and thought it added a lot to the film's appeal and atmosphere. Something that 'Quatorze Juillet' is heavy in, again in a way that has elegance and an affectionate air.

Also massively successful too is the writing. The comedy is genuinely funny and didn't come over as over-played, with it being the farcical kind of humour that could easily have been the case. Meanwhile the more dramatic moments have real heartfelt but never over-sentimental pathos, making it the film of the three that connected the most with me emotionally. The story is beautifully constructed, the slightness of it not mattering at all, it is immensely charming, brings a smile to the face and has a big heart. Told always smoothly and with no problems with cohesion.

Really loved Annabella in 'Le Million' and she perhaps beguiles and moves even more here, she brings so much heart to the film. Just like Cordy providing most of the entertainment value without playing things too broadly.

Overall, really wonderful and deserving of more attention. 10/10