Le cheval d'orgueil

Unusual Chabrol movie is a period drama depicting (and celebrating) a simple, rural milieu, beautifully set and photographed, all well-intended, but somehow misses the point it wants to make.

Though I watched this in French, without the benefit of subtitles even in that language, I have to say that it emerges as the least Chabrol ever! While occasionally changing tack completely from the thrillers he was best-known (and admired) for, this pastoral drama in a period setting was as far removed from his 'comfort zone' as could be imagined.

Consequently, it is hard to fathom what the director thought he was doing here or intended in the first place – given that the end result is plot less, excruciatingly dull and comes with an obscure title to boot! Maybe Chabrol was after some prestigious award, which were not so freely handed out to the essentially commercial fare he usually dabbled in.

Anyway, what we get is an irrefutably meticulous and reasonably affectionate recreation of a particular past era – Brittany at the time of WWI – but, in spite of its (expected) appealing photography, at almost two hours, the documentary approach is positively deadening. The simple events in the daily life of the inhabitants hardly elicit a response from the viewer, other than as a waste of time alas. Frankly, the image that has stuck with me a week after viewing this is the fact that, for no discernible reason, the peasants involved sleep in hanging cupboards!

Claude Chabrol had a great career, spanning more than 5 decades, during which he experimented with various genres (and even shot in various countries). "Le Cheval D' Orgueil" aka "The Horse Of Pride" may well be the least-known entry in his entire filmography, and with good reason: it is well-photographed but boring, overlong, without the slightest amount of plot - or a point to make. There are some random fantasy elements (a man who comes back from the dead, "misery" manifesting as a wild dog) which never pay off. Chabrol seems out of his element in the farming environment he depicts here; give him the bourgeoisie instead. *1/2 out of 4.

In the beginning of the Twentieth Century, in Britanny, Pierre-Jacques narrates the story of his peasant parents since they got married in their province. Pierre-Alain (François Cluzet) and Anne-Marie (Bernadette Le Saché) got married and live with their parents in the same house. They work with their neighbors, women and men performing separate work. They have good moments with their plantation and bad moments with starvation. The Breton's religion, superstitions, beliefs and customs are transmitted by parents to their kids along with the stories told by the elders. When the men go to fight in the World War I, the women need to work harder to survive with their families. Despite the poverty, people is proud of their lives. Since the family of Pierre-Jacques cannot afford to have a horse, his grandfather Alain (Jacques Dufilho) and his father put him on their shoulder to ride on the horse of pride.

"Le cheval d'orgueil", a.k.a. "The Horse of Pride" (1980) is a different and odd Chabrol's movie for very specific audiences. The film is good, supported by magnificent cinematography but the plot is related to Britain and its people, giving the sensation of a National Geographic documentary. This film has not been released in Brazil; therefore, it was hard to find it subtitled in English, but yesterday I finally saw it. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): Not Available.

L'albero degli zoccoli (1978) by Olmi, a masterpiece. Chabrol's is not a masterpiece but a decent try. Don't looks a Chabrol film at all, that's true, but it's interesting anyway.

It's a good exercise to watch first Olmi's film and then Chabrol's, filmed 2 years later, to compare and understand maybe the intentions of Chabrol.