A Farsa do Amor e da Guerra

2003 is a perfect time to talk about Rappeneau's directorial debut because he has now, 38 years later, returned to the subject of WW11 in 'Bon Voyage', which I have commented on in the appropriate place. Of course it helps any fledgling director to have Philippe Noiret and Catherine Deneuve co-starring in his first time at bat but, like virtually all French directors he had a tasty track-record as a screenwriter behind him - he had, in fact, co-scripted 'Zazie Dans Le Metro' five years earlier in which Noiret starred as a drag queen - and it shows in the way he handled this film. Something of a ground-breaker at the time - it wasn't 'done' to find charm, drollery, to say nothing of laffs in Occupied France til Rappeneau showed the way - it paved the way for so many others. Well served by his cast, especially the two principals La Vie de la Chateau is a delight from start to finish, a souffle lighter than air as only a French chef could concoct. With a revival long overdue any video/DVD copies lying around should be snapped up.

Perhaps it was a misguided idea from the start to attempt to make a comedy set in German-occupied France in the last months of WWII (and to shoot it in black & white, for no discernible reason), but "La Vie De Château" is weak even on its own terms; any comedy, regardless of time period, is supposed to have more than three laughs in 90 minutes. This film has little to offer beyond Catherine Deneuve's exquisite beauty, and to be honest I struggled to even finish it. No traces of the director who would make the excellent "Cyrano" 24 years later here. ** out of 4.

Another delightful French pastiche, this time set around the time of the D-Day landings in Normandy; a fine cast headed by Catherine Deneuve, Pierre Brasseur and Philippe Noiret lend themselves admirably to the spirit of the thing. LA VIE DE Château takes in everything from the issues of class difference (farm girl Deneuve is married to wealthy good-for-nothing Noiret), collaboration (Noiret's family flaunts its supposed Nazi sympathies for their own material gain while secretly despising their oppressors) and heroism (it's Noiret who ultimately emerges as the unexpected - and perhaps unwilling - hero, eventually winning back the straying affections of his wife). Director Rappeneau recently returned to the same stylistic territory and historical background with equally terrific results for his BON VOYAGE (2003).

This film A MATTER OF RESISTANCE is a French film whose original title is LA VIE DE Château. The 23 year-old Catherine Deneuve, having already appeared in 16 feature films by that age, plays the female lead. Her real name was Catherine Dorléac, being the younger of two beautiful sisters who both quickly became screen goddesses. The year after this film was made, her older sister, Francoise Dorléac, died tragically at the age of only 25, and the whole of France was plunged into mourning. Catherine had until then had been regarded as the lesser of the two, and suddenly she was the only one left. These twists of fate affected the French public and French film industry, and no doubt Catherine 'Deneuve' herself most of all, profoundly. Francoise was really very amazing, and the loss of her was traumatic in Europe somewhat as the early death of James Dean was in America: always mourned, never forgotten. Catherine Deneuve later on developed her cool exterior, but in this film she plays a pouting, spoilt spitfire of a young girl with such passion that the ice queen who was to come cannot even be guessed at. In most of her later films, she appears tall. But in fact she is only 5 feet 6 inches, and here her small size is very evident. She is wearing very obvious sixties makeup with all the prominent eye-liner and looking very much a girl of the 1960s. That is rather odd, considering that the action of the film is set in 1944 near the coast of Normandy. No one in 1944 looked like that, but never mind. The film itself, directed by Jean-Paul Rappeneau (perhaps best known for THE HORSEMAN ON THE ROOF, 1995), is delightful. It is directed with such a light Gallic touch, and is extremely entertaining and well made. Deneuve plays the daughter of the farm manager who has married a somewhat older man who is lord of the manor and lives in the huge old 18th century Normandy château. He is played with droll confidence by the ever-engaging Philippe Noiret, then aged 36. Of course we are not used to seeing Deneuve and Noiret when young like this, so it takes some adjusting to our expectations. The film is in black and white, or as the French say in reverse: blanc et noir. It is difficult to believe that Noiret, who made 153 films and was such a mainstay of the French cinema, died as long ago as 2006. So time passes and carries all away. Mary Marquet is superb as Noiret's bossy and commanding mother, a gentlewoman of the old school who will take no nonsense from anybody, including obnoxious Nazi soldiers billeting themselves in her house. D Day is coming soon, and the Resistance are active in the vicinity of the château, preparing for American paratroopers to drop onto the chateau's lawn. But the Nazis have planted sharp stakes in the ground for any paratroopers to land on. There are many complications and intrigues, but the film is chiefly concerned with the comical antics of the characters, and even the chief Nazi officer billeted in the house becomes a figure of fun. This is a light-hearted film, and the backdrop of the War is seen more as an inconvenience to the lives of the characters than as a tragedy and a danger to the country, no matter in how many intrigues they may be involved. Much of the film is devoted to a romantic comedy based upon three men all infatuated with the tempestuous Deneuve. It is really a lot of fun.

With the director of "Zazie in the Metro", and both the star and composer from "Umbrellas of Cherbourg", how could this be anything but brilliant! Set in a decaying chateau during World War II, populated by eccentrics, with Germans camping out in the courtyard while the French Resistance goes about under their very noses.

Something like a Carry On film at times, with touches of Allo Allo. Sometimes you get the impression someone is about to burst into song - I wonder if it would have worked as a musical? Deneuve is marvelous - beautiful, and very funny as she twists her husband round her finger, and staves off advances in all directions.

A pleasing classic that you shouldn't miss, but the combination of black and white, and subtitles may be offputting to some.