César

All the three films in Marcel Pagnol's Marseille trilogy ('Marius', 'Fanny' and 'Cesar') are well worth watching, personally would go as far as calling them must sees. All three are wonderful in their own way, though all the great things about the trilogy and what makes it special are present in each film. To me, they are important films in regard to French cinema and early talkie film-making and are a few of the finest examples of somebody with theatrical origins moving into film and became important.

'Cesar', the only one of the Marseille trilogy to not be directly based on the play, is the third and final film in the trilogy and a great way to end it. It is not quite as good as my personal favourite 'Marius', but is on the same level as 'Fanny' for generally the same reasons. Despite having occasional story problems, 'Cesar' (named after one of my favourite characters of the trilogy) is the most human, most understated and most moving of the three perhaps and benefits greatly from having Pagnol in the director's chair again and the original cast returning yet again.

It though does have the slightest story of the three films in the trilogy and the only one to feel slightly contrived on occasions. That is my only complaint though.

Like 'Marius' and 'Fanny', 'Cesar' looks lovely and surprisingly evocative. In fact all the great things of those two films are here, for the same and different reasons. Scotto returns as composer and his score is equally as whimsical and charming. Did appreciate that 'Cesar' did have a much better beginning than that of 'Fanny' and that it got to the point much quicker.

There is some nice wit in the writing, the dialogue can be described in the same way as the dialogue in the previous two films. It succeeds in the humorous elements and even more so the emotional moments, balancing both well while having more of the latter. Did love how understated and compassionate the story was.

Which added to the poignancy and humanity of one of the most easy to root for love stories in early talkies. The characters are still compellingly real and their situations are still relatable and relevant now, did find that what happens resonated with me. Pagnol's direction is never too static or theatrical, he stays true to his roots while opening up the drama enough so it does feel cinematic.

Fanny is slightly underdeveloped again, but again that is namely down to the deeper characterisations of the other characters. Especially Cesar. The acting is great again, especially Raimu giving perhaps his best performance of the trilogy and he was astounding in 'Marius' and 'Fanny' as well.

Concluding, great and a more than worthy end to a wonderful trilogy of films. 9/10

César (1936) : Brief Review -

A sweet and fulfilling end to The First Ever and One of the Finest Trilogy of world Cinema. Cesar came after a gap of 4 years since Fanny and this was the only film in the Marseille Trilogy that was directed by writer Marcel Pagnol himself and wasn't adapted like earlier two films. One interesting thing i noticed about these 3 films is, these films are named after 3 characters but in the films the main focus is on other character. To elaborate a little, Marius (1931) was named after Marius but the film was more about Fanny's sacrifice. Next it was Fanny (1932) named after Fanny, but it was more about Cesar and Panisse and then came this film named after Cesar but it was more about Marius and his redemption. Cesar is about Fanny and Marius's son Césario who realises about his real father after the death of Panisse. The film is little longer unnecessarily where the first half doesn't really warm any things up. Then, the second half is all about emotional mess which makes couple of intelligent speeches on the family affairs. Like they said in the film, "Family Scene", actually the film ranks up there only. The character of Marius finally gets justice even though he doesn't clear the earlier mistake but the way he puts himself as a victim is nothing short of unexpected intellectual writing. Yes, the film could have been much better with sort of painful ending just like Marius had and that's why it became a Cult Classic, however, Cesar is a sweet send off to the trilogy with the mainstream idea of fulfilling the positive mindset of audience. Performance wise, Raimu outshines everyone despite less screen space, rest are fine. Pagnol's writing and direction both had minor faults but overall it was very good. In short, Cesar wraps up the trilogy nicely but with little more finesse it could have been a Classic.

RATING - 7/10*

By - #samthebestest

A fitting finale to Marcel Pagnol's touching Marseilles trilogy (perhaps the strongest part of them all), this wise and witty heart-warmer offers more of the writer-director's wonderful dialogue, particularly in the lightly satirical immensely funny opening sequence.

Still, there's enough room for musings on family, friendship and the sacrifices life demands. The cast is top-notch, with Raimu as brilliant as ever, while Fresnay delivers an electrifying speech towards the end.

Some may find the whole affair too slight, contrived and emotionally charged, but trust me, these three pics are definitely worth six hours of anyone's life... at least, anyone who loves good storytelling.

8 out of 10 hilarious deathbed confessions

I appreciated writers reign's comments which I fully agree with. I would just like to say that I have in hand Pagnols' memoirs entitled "Confidences" published in 1981,i.e.7 years after his death.Pagnol states that he got along very well with Korda when "Marius" was shot for Paramount.Korda told Pagnol:"It's my first talking picture.I know what you don't and you know what I ignore.We should do a good job together". Actually,according to Pagnol,it's Korda himself who answered a complaining sound recording engineer:"Mr Raimu cannot be replaced.You can".Raimu bought the man a drink and they became good friends. I hope I did not hurt your excellent correspondent's feelings.I am just luckier to have Pagnol's memoirs at home.Thank you for your attention.

Following his sterling work in the first two episodes Raimu finally gets to play the eponymous character in the wind-up. It's impossible to overpraise this outstanding actor, dead in his 60th year with a far-too-meagre body of screen work as his legacy. Orson Welles once called Raimu the 'greatest actor who ever lived' and anything good enough for Awesome Welles is more than good enough for me. A local lad, Raimu spoke with the accent of the 'Midi' and whilst directing the first part of the trilogy, 'Marius', Alexander Korda, hired by Pagnol to direct, remarked to Producer Pagnol that Raimu's accent was execrable and would not be understood outside Provence. Pagnol's reply not only did him credit but was a classic. 'Monsieur Raimu cannot be replaced. You can'. Nuff said. Here, some five years after he first played Cesar on film and seven since he created the role on stage, Raimu segues seamlessly into the middle age of the character and gives an Acting Class to disciple Charles Laughton, who, in imitating slavishly the Frenchman found only ham and missed completely the filet mignon; indeed the comparison between Raimu and Laughton is akin to the one between Fred Astaire and Gene Kelley, one the one hand a thoroughbred on the other a carthorse. Inevitably with loose ends to be tied up and the death of a major character to accommodate this final episode is destined to disappoint if only because it reminds us of its illustrious predecessors. The 'minor' writer, Pagnol, would continue to write classic tales as all great storytellers do and Raimu would even appear in a couple, The Baker's Wife and The Well-Digger's Daughter, but what he would have brought to 'Papet' in 'Jean de Florette' and I write as one whose admiration for Yves Montand knows no bounds. 9/10