Vipère au poing

A good (but not great) adaptation of André Bazin's autobiographic novel which I urge all the users who saw the movie to read.Philippe de Broca does not feel at home in this gloomy story ,he who shines in comedies or adventures yarn ("Cartouche" "L'homme de Rio" ).And the made-for-TV version is imprinted in my memory as it must be in any French's.It had the definitive Folcoche (Folcoche= Folle Cochonne= Mad Swine):Alice Sapricht was so terrifying that any actress who would take on the part would be fatally compared to her.Catherine Frot does an okay job,but Folcoche was ,is and will always be Alice Sapricht whose ugliness worked wonders.On the other hand,I'm pleased to see that one of the late Villeret's last parts was worthwhile, a thousand miles from the obnoxious "Iznogood" .Good performances also come from English Cherie Lunghi ,Pszoniak and Paul Le Person.

In the French literature ,"Vipère au Poing" recalls "Poil de Carotte".These two books feature the most terrifying mothers who ever were.And they were not invented.Both Bazin's and Jules Renard' moms were respectively Folcoche and Madame Lepic !

I love the book "Vipère Au poing" by Hervé Bazin, it is one of my favorite book. I think the adaptation is a pretty good film on its own but it lacked certain things. Catherine Frot played well her part but was not as cold and cruel in the film that Folcoche was in the book. The main difference is that it seems like the director of this film tries to make excuses for Folcoche's behavior. Important scenes were changed such as the last scene in the book was different from the same scene done in the film. Otherwise, the film was really well done. Jules Sitruk played Brasse-Bouillon fantastically. I loved the subtle references to Hervé Bazin's work. The music was very dramatic and I liked Brasse-Bouillon's voice-over. Overall, the movie was entertaining but the book is a lot better of course.

Vipère au poing is a french novel telling the childhood of the author Hervé Bazin. As a young boy, Bazin was confronted with his mother who was a tyrant. She had imposed a very tough way of life in the family manor. For instance, during the winter, she had forbidden any heater in the bedrooms of her children. She was finally nicknamed by them "Follcoche" for Folle (mad) and Cochonne (pig).

In 1971, a first film from the book had been shot for TV with Alice Sapritch playing the mother. At this time, the french viewers had been impressed by her acting.

Thirty years later, there is this new adaptation by Philippe de Broca. If you forget Alice Sapritch and equally the book, you can be enjoyed by the movie. Admittedly, there are some flaws in the Broca film. You can discuss the acting or you can find the voice off unpleasant. But this film is nice, it's enjoyable to see it. And it is not boring at any moment. It's too rare in the french cinema nowadays, not to be underlined.

Vipere au poing is one of the classics of French literature. It is studied at school, and I defy any person who starts to read it to finish it unscathed. It is the story of the relentless hate of a mother towards her children. It shows that the aim of her life is to destroy their spirits, to break their wills. And there is no happy ending, she really hates them.To be able to play this "tour de force" you need a first class actress. I admire very much Catherine Frot, but unfortunately for her, I had seen before a first version of this book, filmed for the French television in the 70s, and Mrs Sapritch made this role hers for life, at least for me. It did not stop me from also buying this film in DVD, as it is always interesting to see how two different set of actors, 30 years apart, manage around the same idea. So, my advice is see them both and make your mind up. Regretfully, the 70s version is only available in French and in region 2 (Europe) DVD.

Nice film for Philippe de Broca. This is his last film. It is not the adventure film or the adventure comedy that made him known and carried him through his career. It is a more intimate film. Between children, between children and parents, between parents, between employees and others. With the qualities of his cinema: a subtle direction of actor, accurate female characters. With at work here the young actors and Catherine Frot.

The film also has a historical and societal interest on the way of life of this provincial bourgeois family, which has its money and personal problems, embodied by Jacques Villeret as an entomologist poltroon and by Catherine Frot as a psychorigid.