Maman Colibri

Duvivier's last silent film is an unusual one for him: it's not about a woman who brings a man or child to his doom, but of a woman whose insistence on her own youth and freedom destroys herself: she leaves her children and husband for what she imagines is lasting love with the ever-youthful Francis Lederer, only to discover, too late, that her time is past.

Duvivier directs with a sympathy for Maria Jacobini's character, Baroness Irene de Rysbergue, unusual for him, and accentuates her self-indulgence with a loving close-ups of the actresses' face, and luxurious moving shots that would soon grow scarce in the cinema. Mademoiselle Jacobini is excellent in the role, and Lederer, as her lover, is very good. But the time for silent movies was passing and all too soon, the time for this sort of work would be gone. Duvivier's next movie would be "David Golder" and even though he would survive and even produce more great works, they would never again show this sort of camera movement.

.....when Duvivier released his final silent work,which came just before "David Golder" in which ,with the notable exception of "Poil De Carotte",the true Duvivier ,the poet of the dark soul of man,began to appear;unlike Jules Renard's work,the director did not bother to remake "Maman Colibri" later ,but Jean Dreville did ,in 1937,and many tears were shed then.

The story switches abruptly from the bourgeois life in Paris to the desert and his "Beaux Légionnaires and I wonder if there might be a sequence or two missing;this is a very moral story :a woman leaves her home and follows a handsome officer in Algeria ;Duvivier's nasty side appears now and then in the few subtitles (very few)when the superior says to the dashing legionnaire "behave yourself! a mistress is not a person to be proud of" or the younger girl and her egregious gaffe "why didn't you bring your mama with you?She's charming!"

The problem of this melodrama is that of a woman who wants to be still young "you shouldn't dress like that" says the husband as she gets ready for the ball.Flirting like an ingénue in the scene of the reception,she 'll turn into a grandma in the end.

Duvivier's command of image reveals consummate artistry:for instance he shows the socialite dancing withe her young boy ,as a busker in the street plays the barrel organ;the ball is filmed with a great virtuosity ,and Duvivier takes advantage of his numerous extras;the desert scenes show a sense of space which would emerge again as Duvivier made his way through the thirties ("LEs 5 gentlemen Maudits" "la Bandera")

Impact is lacking :Duvivier had always needed a compact screenplay and his story weakens in the splendid settings by Christian -Jaque (himself a director from 1932 on )

In short,this is technically impeccable,with a god use of music;but it was not a strong story in the first place,and Duvivier ,in spite of the leading actress who really tries her best ,was not able to liven his sinner's life up.But the main problem was that the talkies had happened and "Maman Colibri" was already a thing from the past when it was released.

Julien Duvivier's camera is often wonderfully alive in this film, gliding and zooming around while maintaining beautiful shot compositions, which was one of the highlights of his final silent effort. Maria Jacobini is another, playing the middle-aged woman stuck in a loveless marriage, conveying such emotion with her expressions, and really bringing to mind Gloria Swanson's line from Sunset Boulevard, "We had faces then!"

The woman's husband makes her feel old, completely deflating her with the snide comment "Perfectly ridiculous, this outfit, for a woman of your age," referring to a very cute feathery number which included a hat that looked like a bird's head. Meanwhile, the young man (Francis Lederer) she meets at a masked ball makes her feel alive, with that deep stare of desire, their swirling dance, and an illicit kiss. This was when the film was its best, and the montage of people having fun at the party included lots of little moments and gestures, fully conveying the revelry at the time, and when seen nearly a hundred years later, that people of generations gone by were once alive and gloriously young too.

This desire for a younger man has an added degree of spice when we find out that the young man she's now obsessed with is her son's friend, and moreover, that he has to leave for Algeria for two years with the army. I loved how empowered she was when she left her family, including a younger son, but it was at this point that the film began lagging with the military exercises, even if seeing the host of camels and the landscapes held a degree of appeal. I have to also say, while it was inevitable that trouble of some form was bound to happen, I didn't like how the story played out, which felt like a punishment of sorts to the woman, and the husband suddenly a magnanimous guy. Hélène Hallier was fine in her own right as the younger woman, but I just wish the film had been a little compressed, and some other more interesting fate had been in story for Mother Hummingbird.

Frau Irène de Rysbergue ( Frau Maria Jacobini ) is a middle aged but cheerful woman who lives an easy and comfortably bourgeoisie life together with her husband the Baron of Rysbergue ( Herr Jean Dax ) and their two sons.

One day during a masked ball, Frau Irène meets accidentally a young and attractive man, Herr Georges de Chambry ( Herr Franz Lederer ) who desperately falls in love with her; it turns out Herr Georges is an old friend of Frau Irène's eldest son... The passionate relationship soon causes problems for Frau Irène who finally will decide to leave behind her luxury bourgeoisie life, living then a completely new life together with her lover in Algeria. Of course she must deal with continuous mistaken situations that arise with people not understanding their relationship because of their age difference. Further complications develop when a young woman Miss Dickson ( Frau Lya Lys ) appears in the vicinity.

"Maman Colibri" ( Mother Hummingbird ) (1929) is one of the last silent films directed by the great French film director Herr Julien Duvivier before his long talkie career; it's a very interesting oeuvre wherein the director's artistry is shown at its best.

For example, the use of technical and special effects ( double exposures, zoom, continuous travelling shots ) and vivid camera work, especially the effective use of close-ups, creates the perfect mood for the film, capturing the differences between middle class life in a metropolis and exotic Algeria.

The couple must cope with many prejudices against their relationship. Frau Irène realizes that her love for Herr Georges will destroy her family and the easy life of luxury and comfort she enjoys, all of which she sacrifices to be with her in young lover with no strings attached. Their new life in Algeria to which Herr Georges is assigned due to his military work, is so radically different from the old one. Herr Duvivier illustrates this new situation with many local images and deferment's of this European colony. Of course then trouble appears, namely Miss Dickson... This marks the end of the love between the older mature woman and the young man. Their two years of passion end bitterly and Frau Irène returns to France.

Herr Duvivier handles the story in an elegant and idealized way leaving the morals and patronizing to Frau Irène's husband and eldest son. He depicts a love that is pure and heedless of age differences and social conventions. Frau Irène returns to her old life but will never forget what she had with her young lover or regret that episode in her life. The film ends with a poignant shot of Frau Irène watching her little grandson.

And now, if you'll allow me, I must temporarily take my leave because this German Count has an appointment with a Teutonic rich heiress older than him.

Herr Graf Ferdinand Von Galitzien http://ferdinandvongalitzien.blogspot.com