Zazie no Metrô

"Zazie dans le Metro" is the kind of movie that owes its relative positive outcomes more to its style than to its comedy of errors kind of humor. Having been made as an American film and this would be considered a disaster. Why? It would lose in style, technique, good cultural references and meaningful message. Don't be fooled, "Zazie" has a message in between scenes. Despite an apparent lovely child as the main character and the apparent comedic routine of the film, this is more inclined to be a grown up's picture than one suitable for children - they can watch but the easily impressible ones in the audience will keep asking their parents the meaning some of the words used by the girl, many of them cursing. So, if you want to insist on watching this with a kid be warned that you're going to be just like the adult characters of this explaining everything to the kid.

It tells the story of a 12 year-old country girl (Catherine Demongeot) who is left with her uncle (Philippe Noiret), a performer artist, while her mother is spending a lovely time with her boyfriend. She flees from the house with the intent of taking the subway, but that plan fails because they're on a strike, so the rest of the movie is her sort of understandable childish behavior against the fact, so she explores the city and creates a lot of confusion against anyone she sees.

Cartoonish, filled of speed-up images, running as if it were an imitation of a Bugs Bunny gag, "Zazie dans le Métro" would be an interesting film if it had some coherence rather than just creating images just for fun. An adventurous piece about a girl discovering herself and learning about what growing up means, ultimate message of the film, would be great. The clownish tone of it was distractive and flat. I was reminded of "Amèlie", since it shared a young female's magical and unusual vision around a big city, it's her small world colliding very beautifully with other persons, other realities, forming a reflexive image about society. Both are colorful and fast paced works, carried with visual style and splendorous editing tricks. "Amèlie" is better because it has somewhere to go while "Zazie" is pure slapstick, losing humor the more it progresses.

It's not a bad movie, but it's not so dignifying of having a terrific director like Louis Malle writing and directing it and let's face it, humor doesn't suit him. His greatest works are all dramas (see "Au Revoir Les Enfants" or "Damage"). It's a good picture, indeed, genius in its creative compositions, elaborated sequences (the breathless one in the Eiffel Tower takes the cake), paying an homage to the silent era but it's a real tough break to endure the annoying little brat, her mannerisms and language (not believable in the 1960's context) which isn't funny or humored because she's mistreating people who are good to her and undeserving of such treatment.

I liked what I saw even though I laughed only once or twice. Mr. Noiret was a class act and made this a very enjoyable film along with the great locations. And don't be fooled by the false advertising, she only spends ten seconds in the subway and doesn't even notice. 6/10

Frankly, in the world of corny jokes and lightweight punchlines of the Hollywood comedies I hunger for the good old French physical comedy. Malle is one of the best ju-ju men in the business and in Zazie laughs never stop. Actually, in this movie anything ever stops as people are running rather then walking and driving rather than sitting still. The story is quite simple, a little girl is sent by her mother to Paris to her uncle and the only thing she wants really is to see subway (metro). Of course she runs away, of course everybody starting after her, of course there are some dumb cops and sinister-looking strangers... Or maybe I got it all wrong for having laughed so hard I could not read the subtitles (and my French would barely guide me through a menu in some bistro). Think of it as a live action Roadrunner movie on caffeine...

This has to be seen to be believed! Malle seems just as well to be the victim of Zazie's dark whirlwind surrealism as the audience themselves. Never again achieved an adolescent movie character such an anarchic quality. Despite all the displays of technical outrageousness and pure buffoonery, the pic never feels as superficially sketch-like as many of Dick Lester's works. And the complete lack of warmheartedness is a relief in a picture featuring a young girl!

Now that's a truly original way to declass French bourgeoisie and throw an anti-Fascist pie in their faces! And it's one of the few hommages to silent comedy (amongst sundry allusions to cinema and social topics) that really work. And it's one of Malle's best.

9 out of 10 polar bears

Great cinema, with a wonderful exuberance and style. Louis Malle showed his great talent and versatility in this romp of cheeky comedy. Blessed with a Zazie that (for me ) captures the essence of the character originally created by Raymond Queneau, this is a 60's French film that continues to bring naive pleasure to those to whom it is a memory of the renaissance of French cinema in the early 60's, and (hopefully) will still retain a few inspirational moments for those see this movie thirty years on and who have had the benefit of later comedic directors who learned from this well-crafted and thoroughly entertaining movie.

In the early sixties, New Wave French Cinema were very serious about themselves, with Godard and Truffaut. But Louis Malle, who was from the same generation, don't take anything seriously in this unforgettable movie. I really love the viewer analogy with the Roadrunner! Everythings goes nuts in this movie: Sounds, situations, logic, actors. It reminds us of the Mack Sennett movies. It's also got a lot of charm for the very funny and smiling face of little Demongeot playing Zazie. And how about young Philippe Noiret? He will become one of the greatest French actor of all time. Like the Jacques Tati's movies of the same era, this comedy can't grow older. Seeing today is seeing it with the same joy as in 1960. A must!