La cicatriz

From reading other reviews here it doesn't seem like this film has too good of a reputation. This surprises me. I found Wanted: Babysitter to be a very good crime-thriller. Having said that, I am not familiar at all with its director René Clément's other work. It appears from what I read that he was a renowned film-maker whose career was latterly panned by the critics. This film was his last offering and it seems to have suffered especially badly in this way.

I just cannot get behind the dislike though as overall I found the film to be very involving. I thought Maria Schneider was fine in the lead role and was ably supported by the likes of Robert Vaughn, Vic Morrow and Sydne Rome. The storyline is compelling enough and there is a fair amount of tension generated. The overall tone is gloomy and downbeat which is certainly in keeping with the film's French origins, seeing as 70's thrillers from that country seem to often be like this. Furthermore, the version of the film I watched was a public domain copy that was for some reason in black and white. I have no idea why this should be seeing as the film is clearly a colour production. It sounds like it may have been released this way for some obscure TV market perhaps. But whatever the reason, the funny thing is that the black and white presentation actually adds to the overall feel of the film. It only adds to the downbeat ambiance and very probably makes it a better film.

All I can say finally is that Wanted: Babysitter is nowhere near as bad as its reputation suggests. I would even go as far as to say that it is a good 70's thriller and is well worth checking out.

"A young woman unwittingly becomes part of a kidnapping plot involving the son of a movie producer she is babysitting. The kidnappers happen to be former business partners of the son's father and are looking to exact some revenge on him. Our babysitter must bide her time and wait to see what will become of the son and herself, while the kidnappers begin to argue amongst themselves, placing the kidnap victims in great peril," according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis.

That acclaimed director René Clément could be responsible for this haphazard crime thriller is the real shocker. Despite beginning with the appearance of having been edited in a washing machine, the film develops a linear storyline. Once you've figured out what is going on, the engaging Maria Schneider (as Michelle) and endearing John Whittington (as Boots) can get you through the film. There are a couple of female nude scenes, which fit into the storyline well.

**** Scar Tissue (10/15/75) René Clément ~ Maria Schneider, John Whittington, Vic Morrow

This film was almost universally panned at the time of its release. It was the final film of distinguished French director Rene' Clement and clearly not one of his best. But....

There is something about this film that is quite compelling. Agreed, the plot is full of holes and certainly stretches belief and logic. But there is a melancholy mood that few films ever achieve. One has to credit Clement for this (non-trivial) achievement. Generating and communicating melancholia is hard to do and somehow Clement manages it.

Credit must also go to French actress Maria Schneider who plays the role of the confused and trapped Michelle, just right. Her acting is minimalistic, and ultimately believable. In a smaller role, Italian comedian Renato Pozzetto, playing the scruffy Gianni ( Michelle's friend), brings just the right seediness, innocence and melancholy to his scenes. Worth a look. Worth a partial revaluation.

Artistically,it represents the lowest point René Clément was to reach:he was wise enough to call it quits afterwards.

René Clément 's career had begun to decline,slowly but inexorably,during the sixties.His best works ("les maudits","jeux interdits" ,"Gervaise" and "plein soleil") were made before 1960,that is to say before the nouvelle vague's explosion.

"Plein soleil"(1959)is a movie we must come back to if we want to understand Clément's evolution:his first thriller,and the first version of Patricia Highsmith's "the talented M.Ripley",it was completely successful(although it was not really faithful to the novel),and Clement could believe he was a potential Hitchcock .All his subsequent movies bar two will be thrillers.They all boast an American star:Jane Fonda in "les félins",Charles Bronson in "le passager de la pluie" ,Faye Dunaway in "la maison sous les arbres",Robert Ryan in "la course du lièvre à travers les champs" and Robert Vaughn in this one.Another thing is obvious:they 're getting worse and worse(the movies not the actors!) as the years go passing by:only the first one,with his plot à la Boileau-Narcejac ,is still watchable today.

From "le passager de la pluie" onwards,René Clément showed ludicrous metaphysical pretensions ,quoting Lewis Caroll in the movie mentioned above,trying to mix suspense and subtile hidden meaning:"la course du lièvre..." spreads its action over 140 boring minutes.He hit rock bottom with "la baby sitter" (which was the real French title,I do not know where they found "jeune fille libre le soir"):the plot is so confused it's sometimes impossible to understand it.It seems that Clement had in mind a movie about torturers and victims.His directing is ponderous and lifeless,the cast is mediocre (Maria Schneider who starred in "last tango in Paris",Sydne Rome),the suspense absent,and the plot has more holes than Swiss cheese.Unlike "plein soleil",do not bother to remake.

The movie has been released on treeline films ( www.treelinefilms.com ) and I bought it at the store for .99 and worth every penny! They also had many other films including Mr. Wong Detective starring Boris Karloff. More on that in another review. The film is in colour and the soundtrack is a little catchy. Its in English but the voice seem to be out of sync. I am a fame of Robert Vaughn and wanted to see what he was up to. Well for most of the movie he is not present. The ending was a little surprising. Seriously I just bought it to kill time while I programming and found myself watching it to the end just because it was so bad...you know like a car wreck...