La kermesse héroïque

A classic of French pre-War cinema, Carnival in Flanders by the great Jacques Feyder is the most devious and cruel satire you might ever come across. Set in early 17th-century Flanders, which had previously been under Spanish rule, the story opens with shots of a busy village preparing for the yearly carnival, when the news break that the Spanish Duke Olivares and his troops plan to stay in town. At the prospect of looting and raping militia men, the flabby mayor of the well-to-do provincial nest called Boom volunteers, as he puts it, "to sacrifice" himself: his plan to pretend he has just passed away, thus hoping to convince Olivares to bypass the mourning town, is eagerly adopted by his timorous menfolk. But while the males go about staging the mock funeral, the women, led by the mayor's energetic wife, take over the action and, in turn, decide to "sacrifice" themselves to the soldiers. What follows is a grand tale of sexual libertinage and deception with a "happy end" of sorts where virtually no-one is redeemed. (The original title, La Kermesse héroïque, literally The Heroic Fête, operates in much the same way as Milos Forman's early satirical masterpiece, The Fireman's Ball, 1967, and the parallels are numerous; no doubt Forman had taken a second look at Feyder's Kermesse during his studies.) What immediately strikes one today is Feyder's directness in exposing his characters' human flaws, which is hardly subdued by the general satirical tone. The way adultery, homosexuality and eroticism but also greed, cowardice and deceit are depicted leaves one speechless at times, and certainly wondering how political correctness and all sorts of profit policies and conservatisms have infested modern-day cinema to a point it would no longer dare think to produce anything like this. Not to speak of the 1930s Hollywood counterparts, for which Feyder would have been light years off the mark, proving the point that there was and still is such a thing as the "French cultural exception". Apart from the latent debauchery creeping out into the open from the cozy interiors of a model town, the film also has multiple strings of side puns that keep its pace up at all times – from spot-on character studies (the mayor, the artist, the butcher...) to hysterical history sidekicks (using a fork for the first time, Spaniards wondering what "beer" is, impious remarks on Dutch painting...). Most strikingly, it is a hallucinatory mockery of the Dutch and their supposed idiosyncrasies: avarice, Protestant pragmatism, self-righteous "middle-class" rule, bogus worldliness, you name it. This goes to such an extent that it has been repeatedly claimed that Feyder had intended an allegory of the Dutch's collaboration with the German occupier in WWI – and from today's perspective, one is tempted to grant it visionary power as well, since substantial parts of the Flamish-speaking population of Belgium were eager supporters of Nazi rule. This assumption makes sense once you've witnessed the cold-blooded irreverence and unmasked sarcasm Feyder uses to unmask his species, which is surpassed only (in literature) by the untouchable Molière. Clearly, all formal issues had to serve this main objective – the Vaudeville acting, the picturesque film set, the matter-of-fact filming, and not least the purpose-built dialogues. So, although you should not expect a formidably audacious experiment in film-making, you will be treated a deliciously immoral chamber piece on sexual banter and other not so politically correct behaviour. Released in 1935, it is also a cruel reminder of how conservative the world – and its cultural output – has become as of late.

The women hold a big banquet and all of the Spanish officers are invited. However, one of them is not interested and prefers to stay indoors and do his needlepoint. One of the village men is also not interested so the officer invites him to bring out his knitting. They discuss what kind of stitches to use and the officer opines that a particular stitch feels nicer on the leg.

The scene is perfectly innocent, but how interesting that already in 1935 they had the idea that maybe not all of the soldiers wanted to be seduced by women! And they actually dared to put the scene in! :)

The question of just what the Mayoress has done with the Duke is left unsaid, but probably also would never have passed the Hays Office in Hollywood.

...because of the American production code. In early-17th century Flanders, at the town of Boom, a Spanish duke (Jean Murat) and his advisors are due to stop over for the night. The townsfolk panic, as they believe the "savage Spaniards" will rape and pillage their small village. So the burgomaster (Andre Alerme) and his sharp-witted wife (Francoise Rosay) devise a plan wherein many of the menfolk will pretend to be dead and the "widows" will be accommodating to the visitors. The plan works, only too well, as the women find the Spanish visitors virile and attractive in comparison to their fat and lazy husbands.

This is a fun, bawdy, lighthearted historical fiction that doesn't skimp on period detail. The costumes are elaborate and fascinating, from the corsets to the giant frilled collars to the over-sized pants. The performers are entertaining, especially the ladies, playing a range of flustered flirtation and nervous excitement. There are sly comments about the church of the time, and the hedonistic impulses of even the most chaste. Marcel Carne was one of the assistant directors.

"La Kermesse Heroique" is looked upon,in France ,as Jacques Feyder's apex as well as the beginning of his decline .

This is a colorful entertaining work,with wonderful settings ,costumes,actors ,folk songs and scenes inspired by the Flemish art (the mayoress' daughter is in love with a painter ,Jean Brueghel.) The director's wife,Françoise Rosay (who was also featured in the two previous works "Le Grand Jeu" and "Pension Mimosas " and would be the star of the next work "Les Gens Du Voyage" ) finds here the role of a lifetime : the mayoress character was probably inspired by the strong wives or servants we find in Molière's plays (Madame Jourdain,Toinette).Rosay has the first part of the movie for herself ,but she shares the acting honors with Louis Jouvet's mischievous part of the chaplain;an opportunity for Spaak to laugh at religion;during the banquet ,the nice innocent young ladies ask the ecclesiastic to tell them a tale of the Holy Office :the clergyman tells them the tale of a virgin whose body was covered with honey and licked by a he-goat,the guests have a wonderful time!And when the holy man ,leaving the town,is given chocolate by an inhabitant:he smiled, he thanks and gives her ,as a bonus, some indulgences!I hope she was not protestant.

In this Flemish town,where people are gathering for the fair ,men are cowards :as soon the coming of the Spaniards is announced,they hide their money ("superior significance women cannot understand" ),or they pretend that they are dead (the mayor).A false flash-forward depicts the cruelty of the invaders.

Not only the occupying forces treat the woman as ladies ,but they show romanticism - the mayoress dreaming of Italy, the chaplain marrying "Romeo" to "Juliet" - and a sense of humor -the duke has obviously guessed that the mayoress is not a widow.

Today,Feyder is eclipsed by Renoir ,Carné -who was here his assistant again ,after "Pension Mimosas" - or Duvivier;he seems to enjoy a good reputation abroad though;"Kermesse" and the two other works I mention above are essential viewing for anyone interested in the French cinema.

The mayor of a small town in Flanders is thrown into panic when he hears that the Spanish are coming to occupy the town. he decides to pretend to be dead, leaving his wife and the other ladies of the town to cope with the Spanish invasion. The mayoress rallies the ladies, and reassures them that they will be more than a march for the Spaniards.

This is an enchanting period comedy, full of lovely details of everyday life, and with many hilarious moments as the ladies of Flanders meet the gentlemen of Spain. the charming flirtation that develops between the mayoress and the leader of the Spanish troops is particularly well done. and there's a delightful scene where one of the gentlemen of Flanders and one of the Spaniards find they have a mutual enthusiasm for needlework. An unusual and very amusing film, pure enjoyment from beginning to end.