Toni

After a long search, I found "Toni" on DVD from Shanghai, China. The price was reasonable and so I bought. Unfortunately, the subtitling was also done in Shanghai. This leads to such subtitles as "An unfortunate elephant violates Se perfume w." About three-quarters of the way through, the picture begins to come apart electronically, and becomes practically incomprehensible. Given all the problems with this disc, I am still glad I had the chance to once more see Renoir's simple, beautiful masterpiece. The subtle distinctions in lighting (especially outdoors), the small but telling camera moves, the reserved yet powerful performances all show the hand of a master at work. Visconti may have been inspired from working on this film, but his films were always pedal-to-the-metal, all-out mellers. Renoir takes a story that's as old as the hills and gives it all of his love, respect and considerable talent.

A booming Provence draws workers from Spain and Italy, among them Charles Blavette. He quickly acquires a job at a quarry and a wife, Jenny Hélia, but nurses a passion for the sluttish Celia Montalván, When her uncle dies and Blavette is adamant that he will carry out his wishes that Blavette do his duty as Celia's daughter's godfather, his life goes to pieces. He thinks he can put it together again with a hare-brained scheme that involves Celia, the baby and him running away to South America, but there are complications in her household he doesn't imagine.

Jean Renoir's frequently overlooked movie is competently done, but ignored because, although it clearly has film noir elements in it, including the usual femme fatale, everyone is. to put it unkindly, so stupidly selfish as to be unworthy of much dramatic consideration. The situations go beyond pathos into bathos, and if it were not for the grace notes that Renoir inserts into the production, like the workers' songs, and the actors' ability to inhabitant these foolish characters, it would not be worth the time to look at the movie.

It's a well-meaning effort, based on some ethnographic notes that an old school friend of Renoir's, Jacques Levert took; Marcel Pagnol is listed as executive producer, so clearly someone thought that this was something on the order of the Fanny trilogy in showing the lower classes as they really were. Unfortunately, it shows them as dopes and little more.

There is more than a touch of the Pagnols here, both geographically and literally, indeed the print I saw even credited Pagnol as 1) a producer or (and more probably) 2, the use of his studio space. For reasons best known to himself Renoir chose to set a triangular love story in Pagnol turf, le midi and though the result is creditable it is difficult if not impossible to view a movie like this in the 21st century, with our knowledge that by the time it was shot Pagnol had seen his own trilogy on similar themes produced on both stage and screen. Nevertheless and despite ageing prints this remains well worth seeing and obligatory for the Renoir scholar. 6/10

"Streaming along Paul Bozzi's folksy strains, what TONI lacks is a refined protagonist by using mostly nonprofessionals, Blavette is too anonymous an actor to carry the weight of a leading man, but Montalván has a fierce visage that is both dramatic and cinematic, and when all is said and done, it is Andrex, as the shiftless Gabi, Josepha's cousin, who effortlessly brings some sophistication and cunningness into the fray, because as primitive as Toni is, Renoir's penchant of heroizing him while subtly imputing his downfall to Josepha's congenital promiscuity may deter some audience to warm this otherwise, rather groundbreaking forebear of Nouvelle Vague."

read the full review on my blog: cinema omnivore, thanks

Renoir Is A Grizzly Bear, And Boss Of His Cinema.

The Foremost Jean, of all jeans, the toni, the boss, of a rather crowded table. Where this grizzly bear of a director, sets the story for later European Cinema. In Toni, one of the most enjoyable of Renoir's repertoire. He tells a story of a gang of characters he introduces to the public and audience. From my perspective, Renoir, has a very interesting and personalization to crafting his characters, that resonate through out most of his works.

Renoir is, I think, the most special Director in early Cinema, and I believe his works will continue to inspire young artists and cinemaphiles, movie makers, and a new direction. This film, defined European Cinema, and that is why it's a very warm welcome to anyone's film collection. Nothing short of a masterpiece.

Enjoy.