La kermesse héroïque

The mayor of a small town in Flanders is thrown into panic when he hears that the Spanish are coming to occupy the town. he decides to pretend to be dead, leaving his wife and the other ladies of the town to cope with the Spanish invasion. The mayoress rallies the ladies, and reassures them that they will be more than a march for the Spaniards.

This is an enchanting period comedy, full of lovely details of everyday life, and with many hilarious moments as the ladies of Flanders meet the gentlemen of Spain. the charming flirtation that develops between the mayoress and the leader of the Spanish troops is particularly well done. and there's a delightful scene where one of the gentlemen of Flanders and one of the Spaniards find they have a mutual enthusiasm for needlework. An unusual and very amusing film, pure enjoyment from beginning to end.

"Carnival in Flanders"

This a clever, charming film that depicts the womenfolk of a Flemish village winning over Spanish invaders. The mayor's wife rallies the women to use all their power and resources to seduce the Spaniards--and it works!

There are some very funny moments involving the vigil for the "deceased" mayor (especially when the court midget blackmails him). Most films about the 17th Century are pretty stodgy, but "Carnival" is delight.

I recommend this film.

During the Spanish domination of the Netherlands and throughout the so-called Eighty Years' War, a group of soldiers led by the Count-Duke of Olivares enters a Flemish town. When the village of Boom, in Flanders, learns a Spanish Duke (Jean Murat) and his troops scheme to pass the night, the army deserts and the Burgomaster (André Alerme) plays dead; so the Burgomaster's wife (Francoise Rosay) organizes the townswomen to greet the invaders and preserve the peace with womanly wiles. The invaders discover all the men have disappeared Le duc d'Olivarès and Le chapelain (Louis Jouvet) are surprised by this situation. So the town's ruler hides, while the women prepare a triumphant reception hoping for clemency. First approved then condemned by the Legion of Decency !. First Prize Winning French Film Hit!

This is a sly drama about a village that postpones its possible destruction and so women decide to avoid it by seducing the invaders, colaborating with their conquerors and freely offering their goods during carnival season. The film won the Grand Prix du Cinema Française and created a great deal of controversy. La Kermesse héroïque (1935) (also known as Carnival in Flanders) was a meticulously staged period film which aroused some contemporary political resonances. It earned fame and fortune for Feyder , getting several international awards.

¨Kermesse heroique¨ reputed to be one of Goebbels' favorite films. It also was considered a poor statement to make the rest of the world in light of what Nazi Germany and Italy were attempting to do a their neighbors. A subtle, clever work and one of Feyder 's finest achievements , this classic is a conscious effort to recreate on celluloid the great paintings of the master depicting village life during carnival time . Interesting and enjoyable film on many levels.

The motion picture was well directed by Jaques Feyder. In 1917, Feyder had married Parisian-born actress Françoise Rosay (1891-1974), she acted in many of his films and collaborated with him as writer and assistant director on Visages d'enfants. Jacques started directing films for Gaumont in 1916, but his career was interrupted by service with the Belgian army during 1917-1919. After the end of the war, he returned to filmmaking and quickly built a reputation as one of the most innovative directors in French cinema. Directed Missing Husbands (1921), shot on location in the Sahara, followed by another big success, Crainquebille (1922) two years later. Briefly with MGM in Hollywood, 1928-32, but did not enjoy the experience and returned to France. Directed his best film, Carnival in Flanders (1935) in 1935. After filming Knight Without Armor (1937) for Alexander Korda, L'Atlantide (1921) based on the novel by Pierre Benoit), and Crainquebille (1922) were his first major films to achieve public and critical attention. La Kermesse heoique rating: 6.5/10. Essential and indispensable seeing for the classic french films.

I enjoyed this film very much--partly because of its clever writing and partly because it shows a period you just don't see in films very often. It's well worth your time.

"Carnival in Flanders" is set in the 16th century--during the time that Flanders (modern Belgium) was ruled by Spain. It is set in a fictional town in Flanders--and apparently some thin-skinned Belgians during the 1930s wanted to ban the picture because they thought it made them look bad. That's silly--it's just a cute little comedy! The film begins with some minor intrigues in town--including a painter wishing to marry the daughter of the Burgomeister (that's a mayor for us Yanks). However, suddenly, this is unimportant--what IS important is that the Spanish army will be passing through and the town council KNOW this means they'll sack the town. So, they come up with a crazy plan--to pretend that the Burgomeister is dead. This really won't help anyone--just the Burgomeister! So it's up to the man's wife and the women of the town to deal with these invaders. However, they are shocked to see that the Spanish are incredibly polite--and kind of cute!! What's next? See the film.

I found myself laughing several times during this movie--a very good sign for a comedy. I particularly liked the needlepoint scene! All in all, very entertaining, funny and exceptionally well made--they got the look of 16th century Flanders down pat. A wonderful little comedy that deserves to be seen.

"Men are cowardly lions and women are cunning minxes," is how film critic Jamie Russell describes the theme in Jacques Feyder's December 1935 classic, "Carnival in Flanders." The film's core plot had struck a sensitive nerve with the male members of theater audiences while women rejoiced at what they felt was so obvious. The French film is one of the earliest movies to demonstrate the superiority of a group of women over men when it comes down to saving an entire community from wholesale ruination.

French director Feyder is largely unknown to today's cinephiles, partly because World War Two disrupted an upward trajectory in his film career and had died three years after its conclusion. His contemporary, Rene Clair, lamented "Jacques Feyder does not occupy today the place his work and his example should have earned him." The Belgian actor turned scriptwriter and director was in the forefront of silent movies' poetic realism movement as early as 1916, creating such standouts as 1926 "Carmen" before receiving an invite from MGM to direct Greta Garbo's final silent, 1929's "The Kiss." After four years in Hollywood where Feyder was relegated to directing French versions of English-language releases, he returned to Europe where his most popular and highly-regarded film was "Carnival in Flanders," a work he's most known for.

After directing the somber 1935 dramatic film 1935's 'Pension Mimosas,' Feyder wanted a change in pace in tackling a light-hearted subject. His regular scriptwriter, Charles Spaak, suggested a story from 17th century Flanders under Spanish occupation. Excited with the prospect, Feyder proposed framing his farce in the aura of classical Flemish painters' art so revered in his native Belgium. Writer Spaak fulfilled his request, showing how the pompous male city officials wilted at the first sight of a Spanish official with his army arriving in the city to spend the evening. With imaginary visions of rape and pillage, the mayor and his council members feigned death upon the Spaniards' arrival. The women, however, found the men's strategy ridiculous. Since the city happened to be celebrating a carnival, they welcomed the army with open arms, melting the Spanish soldiers' hearts instantaneously.

"Farce can be incredibly painful," writes film reviewer Mark Frost, "but 'Carnival in Flanders' handles the comedic situations with finesse-with many laughs-out-loud moments." The international film community embraced Feyder's film, earning a handful of prestigious honors, including the New York Film Critics Circle Awards for Best Foreign Language Film. But filmgoers in Feyder's native country were incensed by his motion picture. Fist fights broke out in movie houses showing 'Carnival in Flanders" across Antwerp and Ghent, with the city of Bruges outright banning the film. Viewers drew parallels of its plot with the Belgians' acceptance of German soldiers in their cities and towns during World War One. Simultaneously released in both French and German languages, Berliners applauded its message. Ironically, when Germany kicked off World War Two in 1939, the head of the Nazi propaganda office, Joseph Goebbels, prohibited "Carnival in Flanders" from being shown. Reportedly he was sensitive to the comparisons between the Reich's soldiers occupying foreign cities with those seen in 1600's Flanders. Feyder became a pariah to the Nazis when they overran France in 1940, forcing the director to flee to Switzerland for the duration of the war.