Le beau Serge

In France, François Baillou (Jean-Claude Brialy) returns to his village to spend the winter as part of his treatment of tuberculosis. On the arrival, François sees his former best friend Serge (Gérard Blain) and greets him, but Serge is drunk and does not recognize him.

François learns that Serge is a frustrated man since he had not gone to the Architecture University and has stayed in the village working as truck driver since he had to marry his pregnant girlfriend Yvonne (Michèle Méritz). When the baby was born, he was mongoloid and died. Now Serge is the drunkard of the village.

François meets the seventeen-year-old Marie (Bernadette Lafont), who is the slut of the village, and he feels attracted by the teenager. Meanwhile he tries to help his friend.

"Le Beau Serge" is the debut of the great French director Claude Chabrol that shows his talent to tell a simple and realistic drama. The performances are top-notch and the open conclusion is a trademark of Chabrol. It is weird to see a man treating tuberculosis smoking so many cigarettes along the story. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Nas Garras do Vício" ("In the Claw of the Addiction")

Note: On 21 November 2024, I saw this film again.

Questionably considered the first entry in the Nouvelle Vague, or French New Wave, movement, Claude Chabrol's debut feature serves more as a precursor to the highly influential approach to film- making. While Francois Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard broke new ground and had surprising international success with The 400 Blows (1959) and A Bout de Soufflé (1960) respectively, Le Beau Serge still retains a classical feel. Still, Chabrol's self-financing, on- location shooting, unorthodox editing and the use of non- professional actors proved to be highly influential to the Cahiers du Cinema crew and the first of its kind.

After more than a decade away from his home town, city boy Francois (Jean-Claude Brialy) returns to Sardent for the winter to rest and recover from a recent bout of life-threatening illness. Upon arrival, he notices that the place has barely changed but is oddly deserted, with only a handful of his old friends and acquaintances remaining. One who has remained is Serge (Gerard Blain), Francois' former best friend. The man once dubbed 'handsome Serge' has now been reduced to a bitter alcoholic, trapped in an unhappy marriage with Yvonne (Michele Meritz) who he blames for the loss of his child. Finding himself now at odds with small-town life, Francois still feels compelled to help his old friend.

Despite the odd flash of New Wave characteristics, Le Beau Serge shares more in common with the Neo-Realist movement in post-World War II Italy and the 'angry young man' films that would pepper Hollywood throughout the 50's. Chabrol, who grew up in Sardent, captures the crumbling town with both nostalgia and sadness. While obviously fond and whimsical of such a life, Francois' character feels oddly isolated in the town he once called home, unable to understand how accepting its inhabitants are of their inconsequential existence. The narrative drags in places, but this is both a funny and powerful film, especially if you hail from similar small-town beginnings. Chabrol would build his career on thrillers, but his debut shares a sensitive and socially insightful side rarely seen from the director.

Suffering from a bronchial infection, Jean-Claude Brialy, a young Parisian, seeks convalescence in his home village in the Creuse, where he hasn't set foot for 10 years. There he meets up with his former friend, Gerard Blain, who, despite a brilliant adolescence and a bright future, has ended up in a drunken stupor after his marriage. The first film by Claude Chabrol, who launched the New Wave with this bitter account of rural life, perfectly constructed, and served with the talent of Jean-Claude Brialy and Bernadette Laffont.

...This first effort ,made on a shoestring budget ,actually belongs to the old directors school and would not be out of place in ,say ,Duvivier's or Clouzot's brilliant filmographies.It even recalls Italian neorealism sometimes.Anyway,among all the directors of the otherwise a bit overrated new wave,Chabrol is the most accessible,the most palatable, particularly for those ,like me ,who do not give a damn about ,say,Rohmer or Godard.The depiction of the Bourgeoisie which will begin with the follow-up "les cousins"(with Brialy teaming with Blain again) and will become Chabrol's trademark is absent here .Laffont is the only pure new wave actress :Brialy used to work with the "old "guard as well,and Blain 's career really began with Julien Duvivier's unfairly overlooked and sensational "voici le temps des assassins"(1956).

The story is linear,with a lot of characters and a dash of melodrama thrown in -which is by no means new wavesque-.The rural milieu depiction will pave a reliable way for the highly superior "le boucher" (1969).There's also a tendency to dwell on the sordid side of life.Outside the good cast,two scenes in a graveyard are impressive.

In what is considered the first film of the French New Wave, Claude Chabrol gives us a hypnotic vision of opposites in the same style as Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt. Le Beau Serge follows the story of Francois, a young man who returns to his home town after twelve years, who finds that the town is dying. His landlady even tells him that everyone will be gone soon enough. In particular, he finds that a once-promising childhood friend, Serge, is trapped as an alcoholic in a loveless marriage.

The brilliance of the film lies not in its storytelling (it is quite slow at parts) nor its acting (most of the actors were non-professionals) but in its structure. Everything is seen in doubles. Francois and Serge are two sides to the same coin. Each has an elder counterpart. Each has a female relation which seems to switch off at times. Serge has both a wife and a mistress who is at one point Francois girlfriend; at the same time, Serge's wife becomes morally attached to Francois. In addition, scenes are doubled; two scenes in the cemetary, two implied sexual scenes in Glomaud's home, two turns by Francois and Michel at the beginning, the list goes on and on. Furthermore, entire shots are doubled with different couples in each. It is brilliant.

In addition, the film looks as if it were unpolished (which is a basic tenet of the New Wave), but it looks as if it was a director's first attempt. But that's not necessarily a bad thing.

The greatest detraction (apart from the sometimes overacting) is the musical score. It is extremely discordant with regards to the movie. Minimal scenes such as Serge exiting his house are accompanies by percussion that sounds as if it were a harbinger of doom. I don't know if Chabrol wanted this, but it becomes irritating and causes the viewer to laugh at the film.

As an added note, watch for the parallels of Francois and Serge with the town's children. The kids pop up everywhere.