Marianne de ma jeunesse

I saw this film on NHK TV in the midnight when I was in fifth or sixth grade. The story and the ambience might have been filled with a sort of bizarre, brought me a strange and stray feeling. Marianne herself was really attractive but made me figure that she is the existence beyond the actual universe. And the ending always leaves elusive feeling over me even for now, almost 50 years later. I really have been crazy about movies since I was a kid, fair to say, all sort and genre of movies. But I always had an unsolbed aftertaste lingering deep inside of my heart. That is this "Marianne of my youth". Until I got a university student, I couldn't reach this film once again and review it. As is often the case, I remembered that I had some sort of nostalgia but sense of lost at a time when I eventually encountered the film again and finished watching it.

It was really Marianne "of my youth".

Great master of Manga, Reiji Matsumoto died. And found that his representative character "Maetel" was created originally modeled by this "Marianne".

I wonder how it would be to watch this movie again. Probably I won't. I'd rather let the mysterious atmosphere of the film that obviously enchanted the other reviewers a bit too, untouched. Somehow funny that whilst I can remember only one particular scene from the movie (and it was a miracle that I even managed to find a title of the movie, since I didn't remember any relevant information about it but the name Marianne), I can still discern my feelings when watching the movie as if it was yesterday. The scene that is there in front of my eyes still very vivid, is the one in which Vincent pursues and eventually catches a deer with his bare hands. A triumphant Young man full of adrenalin and a deer, frightened to death.

In a world as black as Duvivier's,"Marianne de ma jeunesse" seems like an anomaly.This movie was looked upon,for a while, as the film equivalent of Alain-Fournier's "le grand Meaulnes",but as so many movies of the fifties,it was overshadowed by the impending coming for the nouvelle vague.

Hindsight displays its charms.Pierre Vaneck portrays a young romantic high school student,in a remote castle on the misty banks of a lake.Across the lake,there lives a mysterious beautiful woman who seems to be in jeopardy.The atmosphere is dreamy,and the audience sometimes stops and wonders whether the story is a fairy tale or not.Sandwiched,in Duvivier's work,between two very noir films ,"l'affaire Maurizius" ,and "voici le temps des assassins" -which I urge everybody to see if he can-,"Marianne " seems like a truce, a quiet place where the man's soul remains chaste and pure.

The black and white cinematography is close to perfect.

This is one of the strangest films I ever saw: Horst Buchholz as a young man from Argentine finds first love in the Bavarian forests! But is his loved one either crazy or a ghost, or is she neither? The aim of the film is to give a very poetic and dreamlike rendering of how the Argentinian (as he is called by his friends) goes through this stage. The strangeness of the film is caused by Duvivier trying hard to achieve this, but most of the times he missing the right tone; he can not sweep the viewer off his feet to accept all he is seeing. There are scenes though that are successful and the best scene (and a very compelling one indeed) is the first encounter between the Argentinian and the girl.

Unavoidably the film heavily relies on poetic symbolism. When the Argentinian first realizes that he is in love, he rushes into the castle accompanied by a storm and heavy rain that shakes the castle. This is still acceptable (but also one of the scenes that should have deserved a better treatment in the direction), but why his love for nature, his natural innocence have to be illustrated by countless deer, is beyond me; this is getting almost satirical. Another aspect of the story that is not elaborated too well, is the presence of the other young girl Liselotte. Okay it is clear that she wants him, but she is never established as a real character, she pops in and out.

Two of the main features of the film and without which the film would probably not have survived are the cinematography and set design that give the most strength to the film. Just look at that openings shot or that extremely well done shot with the Argentinian and the girl in close up and the painting of the girl on the left behind her. Just see how the set designer in his design of the girl's house knew how to convey the dark and tense atmosphere. Music is good too.

The cast has a couple of names who need mentioning. First of course Horst Buchholz in his 2nd feature film; he is good but in his scenes with Marianne Hold (the girl from the castle) he does not stand a change! Until now I knew Marianne Hold only as the eternal virgin in Heimatfilms, but in this film she shows that she was a great actress: whenever she is on screen the complete film is raised a couple of levels in quality and atmosphere. Other noteworthy names (not always for their acting) are: Michael Verhoeven - the later director; Adi Berber - a heavy weight wrestler from Austria here playing a servant who would be very much at home with the Addams Family!; Peter Vogel in one of his first parts.

This is the German language version of a French film with the same name. According to some sources the French language version is better than this one, but alas I can not check. All in all: strange, not always successful, but certainly worth a look. (7/10)

...who tried to walk across the lake

Of course it was winter and all this was ice

They say the lake is as big as the ocean

I wonder if he knew about it.... (Yoko Ono,lyrics slightly modified)

In the early thirties ,it was usual to film the same movie in French and in German.Duvivier did it with "Les Cinq Gentlemans Maudits " ,his peer Robert Siodmak did the same for "Tumultes" ("Sturme Der Leidenschaft").In the mid-fifties ,it was less common,but anyway "Marianne" is unique,a movie which becomes stronger and stronger each time you watch it .I've received more messages about it than about any other Duvivier 's movie ...and than any other French movie!It's incredibly popular in Japan ,and if it so, it's because it's not a movie like the other ones ,it's not a movie like the other Duvivier (although the director had already shown lots of flair for mysterious dreamlike atmospheres as "La Charrette Fantome" and his best American film "Flesh and Fantasy" testify .

Like many Duvivier's buffs,I saw the French version first.When you compare the two movies,it's to state the obvious to write that Horst Buchholz is a better Vincent than Pierre Vaneck .He was often nicknamed the German James Dean and he is ideally cast as an adolescent -although he was 23- for his boyish good looks ,his "Actor Studioesque playing and his face which always looks strained work wonders.Marianne Hold plays in the two movies (like her female co-star Isabelle Pia)and Duvivier films her lovingly :she and Buchholz were par excellence the ideal couple.

"Marianne" is perhaps the most purely artistic work Duvivier ever created and in its own particular way,it stands with his best.The black and white cinematography is stunning and you go into raptures over these misty banks ,these forests full of deers ,this castle where boys have their first experience of friendship ,of love and of dreams;they are still dreaming of Prince Charming,of princesses in jeopardy,of villains waiting in the dark house across the lake which they say is haunted.The movie contains scenes that will have you on the edge of your seats : the concert ,beginning with a classical piece (Mozart) which seems to make the boys yawn their heads off and ending with a South American folk tune when the audience goes literally into a trance;Vincent ,beating the jealous girl ,an anti-romantic scene in the most romantic of all French movies of the fifties ;the storm which is not only around the castle -Duvivier had directed a similar scene in his portion of "destiny" for which he was not credited-;the mysterious mansion where they're preparing a feast complete with banquet ,flowers and altar but where nobody comes until...;and this extraordinary fair ,where the parade adds another disturbing touch...Are we in some Perrault's fairy tale?

"Marianne" is one of these rare movies which can mesmerize you.When it's over ,you ask to yourself:was it a dream? Was It a dream I had when I was younger,so much younger than today?

A Propos of Horst Buchholz : he did not make the career he deserved ,being too gifted for what the directors had to offer him.Who still remembers he was the physician in the concentration camp in "La Vita E Bella" ?At least he ended his career on a high note.