Un singe en hiver

Its lead virtue is to be more than a good comedy. a film about life. and its choices. about two men, in Tigreville. and about the result of that meeting who could change everything. a film about decisions, past strangers and...Spain. nothing new, but all useful in deep sense. because it is a simple film. about simple people. and about the fundamental meanings of existence. and sure, a fine motif for see it remains the presence of Gabin and Belmondo and their almost total seductive performances.

French films often focus on things that are really quite different from the English/American scene. They're a lot about dialog, attitude, and big(mouthed) iconic protagonists - often less about an obvious moral at the end. This film is neither really a comedy nor a drama, it's like that perfect nuance between the two and borrows from both in a very typically French kind of cynical/blasé way.

Instead of a great big moral as most films around the world usually have which they culminate towards, this one has rather a theme that is omnipresent throughout the developments. It's more like an ongoing element of both lead characters' conscience, or rather subconscious - as the synopsis states: the desire to travel. That irresistible urge to discover or rather rediscover a place exotic, festive and foreign; foreign to the boring old daily, routine life.

As referenced in the first line of this review, French films are best when the dialog is best and this one has the right quality for the ambitions of the story and Gabin and Belmondo both do a very good job, Gabin especially as he seems to have been that very character at some point in his life, understands him so well. Such lines as (speaking to his wife, -paraphrasing): "Suzanne tu n'as que des qualités, mais tu m'emmerdes !" - so French in spirit, and a sentence so heavy with significance as it pertains to the sheltered, redundant gentrified "real" life.

Interesting, well acted out, very good dialog, very well paced and filled up: 7.5/10. My own criticism: perhaps the "dream life" is hinted at too much where the film settles for carrying out the events in the plot while not further exploring that strong element of abstract emotion that remains merely underlying and implied.

A very good movie where Belmondo and Gabin performed a so great duet. The story of a man who has stopped drinking- and then dreaming- and who thanks to a young man who tries to forget a lost love in alcohol will turn drunk again during an exciting night. Every man who has ever felt the pleasure of alcohol as a dream and nostalgic catalyst will enjoy watching it. The dialogs are exceptionnal thanks to Michel Audiard.

I have read a recent interview with Belmondo, saying that the veteran Jean Gabin hate all that new wave french cinema when he was asked to do this movie with young Belmondo, who was, at that time, an actor who was working with the New Wave directors (Godard, Chabrol, Truffaut). But a solid friendship was born when the two men work together on that movie. In fact, the respect and this friendship seems to be very easy to see when we look at this charming movie. It's full of a sense of poetry. It's a movie about friendship, dreams, nostalgia, sadness between two men from different generations. It's also a movie about alcool, in a sense that the beatniks of that era refers to. It's also very well written. Gabin and Belmondo gives a very warm performance. You must see this wonderful movie.

In 1962, the year when Henri Verneuil made 'Un singe en hiver', Jean Gabin was 58 years old (younger than Tom Cruise is today!), He was already considered a 'sacred monster' of the French screen and had entered the final phase of his career, that of senatorial roles (including Commissioner Maigret but also the chief of the clan of the Sicilians). Jean-Paul Belmondo was 29 years old and was on the rise, propelled by the films of the French 'New Wave'. Today, both actors are legends, each in his own unique style, having in common the fact that their personalities have amplified their talent and dominated every film in which they appeared. Director Henri Verneuil (who was born in Armenia, his real name was Achod Malakian) has the great merit of bringing them together on screen in this film in which the roles fit them perfectly and the two understand well each other and collaborate wonderfully. It's not the only reason 'Un singe en hiver' is a movie worth watching or reviewing today.

Henri Verneuil was one of the directors who declared himself an adept of the so-called 'quality cinema', criticised and rejected by the directors of the New Wave. And yet, 'Un singe en hiver' demonstrates how relative the categorisations are, and to what extent good films belonging to the same period or film schools get together and find common ground or elements of dialogue. The script is an adaptation of a novel by a writer named Antoine Blondin. Unlike the directors of the New Wave, Verneuil does not leave the actors too much freedom to improvise. However, the feeling of authenticity is pronounced due to the dialogues written by Michel Audiard (an exceptional screenwriter to whom over a hundred French films owe their texts) and the fact that it was difficult and useless to direct the gestures and facial expressions of actors like Gabin and Belmondo. The music (excellent by the way - belongs to Michel Magne) accompanies the moods and marks the story, while the camera is handled with classical caution, which does not prevent us from admiring the quality of cinematography signed by Louis Page, using cinemascope and black and white film . Verneuil filmed very little in the studio for this film. The scenery is all natural, the town of Tigreville in the movie with its streets, cliffs and beaches is Villerville on the coast of Normandy, a coastal city that to this day celebrates the filming that took place there in the early '60s. The subject of the film itself talks about the freedom to be different, a theme dear to the New Wave, and the connection of heroes with alcohol immediately reminds viewers today of the excellent Danish film 'Another Round', this year's Academy Award winner for best film in a foreign language.

Watching Jean Gabin and Jean-Paul Belmondo on screen together is a real treat. Gabin has been cast throughout his career only in a few comedy roles. The one in this movie is one of them and demonstrates how funny and profound he could be at the same time. Belmondo, on the contrary, creates one of the roles in which the charm of his personality hints at a background of humanity with dramatic nuances. Both actors have a lot of fun and it is clear that they feel good together, in this high-level meeting between two characters from different generations played by two great actors from different generations. Noel Roquevert and Paul Frankeur are also part of the cast, in supporting roles, building colourful and authentic characters in a only a few scenes. 'Un singe en hiver' is a tender and funny story, a 'good feeling' film of the '60s whose charm is only amplified by the passage of time.