O Selvagem

Vibrantly photographed, with a more casual, less refined than usual Catherine Deneuve (in one of her rare forays into slapstick comedy) at her most beautiful, but shrill, mostly unfunny, and way overlong; the would-be husband's character (an Italian caricature) is particularly unendurable. *1/2 out of 4.

Recipe for escapist film: Take one top writer (Jean-Loup Dabadou), add one top director (Jean-Paul Rappeneau), season with a brace of A-list vedettes (Yves Montand, Catherine Deneuve), and a dash of screwball and voila! Eat! Enjoy! A guy who has quit the perfume business and found that the Grasse is greener in the islands, a gal running away from a vitriolic Italian, a stolen Lautrec, a bearded Montand, a gorgeous Deneuve, an island idyll. What more do you want. You DO want more? Gee, some people are NEVER satisfied. How about Tony Roberts doing the Tony Randall/Gig Young stooge to Doris Day-James Garner-Rock Hudson spot and proving up to snuff. NOW will you go see it and do yourself a favor. This is a million miles away from Godard pretentiousness and all the better for it. 9/10

Nelly (Catherine D.) is not your average good girl in this somewhat unusual movie. A former ... easy woman, had a "house" with two friends in Paris, then for some reason moved to Venezuela (!) working in a trendy night bar, but the first scene of the movie is her desperate present: she's been married, ostensibly unwillingly, to a crass rich vulgar ... Italian, extended family included. Even if her past is not exactly blameless, she looks them down haughtily, like a princess. Next thing she's doing is leaving on the middle of the wet Caracas night, which makes her come across our hero Martin, (Yves M.), and a mysterious and friendly looking American tourist. They all play an important part in this movie, of which I've only told you the first 5 minutes... :).

If your view of Latin America includes corruption, urban car chases in streets without people, mafiosos, everybody shouting in Spanish *(including princess Deneuve), breaking everything at offices, brawls in bars, thefts, huge curly haired locals, burning things, greed, talks about money all the time, American companies exploiting locals, yes "Amigo", this is your film :).

Ironies apart, while not exactly a very welcoming view of Venezuela, we do get to see the clearest water, a paradisiacal island, modern highways, and -for the time- those big, oil thirsty big American cars that could only be standard in an oil rich country :).

Some films are able to be reasoned out, this is obviously not that kind :). If you accept the premises, I agree with other IMDb reviewers that as a "physical comedy" it fares pretty well. Who cares if the main characters (Nelly and Martin) change completely from scene to scene, from aloofness to giddy love, in turns, but asyncronously, so as to fill an hour and a half? Who want to know why is Martin so good at so many disparate and very difficult abilities, from top notch perfume making to building ships alone, drawing like an architect, or making an elaborate system for watering his ample vegetable garden, fighting and actually defeating thugs like mosquitoes, and yes, being able to resist Catherine D., probably one of the most beautiful women on the planet, on a desert island, like if there really were more important things to do :). Like raising chicken, for instance :). Why did Martin leave his important job and enigmatic rich American wife (Dana Wynter)? In short, who wants a plot when you can have Deneuve :)? I agree with IMDb reviewer "eva25at from Vienna" that the scenes where she is trying to win him over are funny, like the one with the rebellious chicken, or when she is astonished at watching real tomatoes "from the plant"... Nelly doesn't know much about farming :).

We do get to see Catherine's legs and skittish movements, and for those so inclined, a decent torso (Yves'), rather well kept for his age (54 years old).

Enjoy without qualms!

PS: As a bonus, we get to see Deneuve's bosom, but you'll have to watch this film for more than an hour to get it. Worth the wait, if you ask me :).

Jean-Paul Rappeneau made an auspicious directorial debut in 1965 with 'La Vie de Chateau', a delightfully comic view of the Nazi occupation which made it a forerunner to films such as 'La Grande Vadrouille'. Fast forward twenty five years and he directed the definitive version of 'Cyrano de Bergerac'. In the interim he directed only three films, all of them comedies where the rather juvenile humour of his first film has been carried to extremes in which frantic is deemed funny and featuring silly slapstick, hysteria, numerous punch-ups and rat-a-tat delivery.

Two of these starred the charismatic Yves Montand and this is undoubtedly the better of the two. He is here partnered by Catherine Deneuve who had previously worked with Rappeneau on 'La Vie de Chateau'. Her presence guarantees that despite the frenetic goings on Romance will blossom and l'Amour conquer all. Montand's scruffy, unshaven Robinson Crusoe character whose peaceful island existence is shattered by a wilful, strong-minded and sexy female would seem a nod to Cary Grant in 'Father Goose' but whereas Grant and his girl Friday Leslie Caron are threatened by the Japanese, here Deneuve is pursued by a jilted fiancé and Montand is being tracked by his estranged wife. The fiancé is portrayed as a one-dimensional, hot-headed Italian caricature whose solution to every problem is to hit someone whereas the wife is a powerful business tycoon whose motive seems more financial than emotional and who is played by the classy Dana Wynter.

The film is evidently inspired by Hollywood films of the 'screwball' variety and the talented Mlle Deneuve acquits herself very well in an atypical role. Based upon the principle of 'horses for courses' it is best not to compare her with the likes of Carole Lombard and Jean Arthur who excelled in this particular genre. Her chemistry with Montand is palpable as it is in their only other film together, 'Les Choix des Armes.' No doubt with a view to the box office there is an utterly gratuitous shot of her breasts but of course, who's complaining?

Monsieur Montand is as engaging and beguiling in this as he was to be in Rappeneau's next film and in Claude Sautet's seldom seen 'Garcon'. It is a pity that he was not granted the opportunity to do more comedy whilst it is probably kinder to pass over in silence his appearance in 'Let's make love' which calls to mind the phrase 'a fish out of water'.

For viewers outside of France,French film industry is identified by its 'art cinema' as well as its 'commercial cinema'.This is an important distinction to pigeonhole films as it enables viewers to choose films based on their personal tastes. Apart from the general film festival circuit, there is also a huge market for "French commercial films". This has created the perception that commercial films made in France are as entertaining, intelligent and meaningful as art films which have changed the shape of cinema. French director Jean-Paul Rappeneau is a director whose films have always oscillated between realms of art and commercial. The success of his third film "Le Sauvage" proved that even commercial films can convey a lot of useful information about human beings and the societies in which they live. For this film,fast paced action is a big virtue as leading pair of Yves Montand and Catherine Deneuve use all available emotions to entertain their audiences. One has to carefully watch the dogged determination with which Catherine Deneuve is able to get herself out of complex situations. Although Yves Montand's character prefers to lead a lonely yet simple life, it has been dubbed 'savage' due to the use of his 'savage force in rescuing Catherine Deneuve. Although the end is a trifle disappointing, Le Sauvage must be on all those viewers' wish list who would like to learn while getting entertained.