Le chant du monde

While its title may suggest some ghastly globalised version of the Eurovision Song Contest, in fact this Marcel Camus film has a great deal in common with his 1959 Oscar-winning hit Black Orpheus. Gorgeous colour photography, a prettily melodic score and a resounding lack of any dramatic or cinematic skills.

Judging from these two films, Camus had no aptitude for anything other than sentimentalising the 'quaint' lifestyles of 'primitive' folk. Le Chant du Monde is a melodrama about feuding peasant clans in the wilds of Provence, but it's hard to care which of the two families wipes out the other. Could they not kill each other off simultaneously, so we could all go home?

As the outsider hero who gets dragged into the feud, Hardy Kruger bears a well-nigh unwatchable resemblance to Kenneth Branagh. As the 'good' patriarch, Charles Vanel overdoes his loveable-old-codger routine till you want to scream. More fun is to be had from the Romeo-and-Juliet-style lovers, played by a smoulderingly handsome Andre Lawrence and a flamboyantly sultry Marilu Tolo.

Amid this orgy of scenery-chomping, Catherine Deneuve adds a much-needed note of class and restraint as a blind orphan. (Kruger stumbles across her in the forest, giving birth to an illegitimate baby - her make-up and coiffure more suited to a Vogue fashion shoot.) Her role, alas, is too small to have much impact. She may be the most stylishly groomed peasant in screen history.

Like his compatriot Serge Bourguignon ("Cybèle Ou Les Dimanches De Ville D'Avray"),Marcel Camus could be said to have started his career at the top ("Orfeo Negro") and worked his way down.Like him,it's extraordinary he fell so quickly with such a golden start.

The problem is ,as interesting as his "Chant Du Monde" may well be,Camus lacks the artistry to use all the elements towards an overall vision.He seems more interested in the bits than the whole.This overindulgence with the ideas themselves weakens the effect of the film as a whole.

"Le Chant Du Monde" promised great things : a novel by Jean Giono,a bevy of talented actors,a nice score by Andre Hossein ,and above all ,a superlative cinematography which enhances the splendid Provençal landscapes."Chant Du Monde " had the potential of a fascinating work but Camus lacks the skill in weaving his elements together.It's sometimes difficult to follow the plot.A great director such as Julien Duvivier or Carné could liven up his movie by using dozens of characters ;Camus cannot .His heroes are lacking substance and in spite of the talent of such luminaries as Vanel or Hardy Krüger,they are not really exciting.This cast ,although appealing at first sight is questionable :none of them has got the Provençal accent ,Hardy Krüger is German ,and although he is fluent in French ,he seems to be dubbed;and what about Catherine Deneuve who will be the main interest for today's audience?She appears a few minutes at the beginning of the film,then disappears during one hour before reappearing to secure a happy end .

NB:"Besson" means "twin" in provincial dialect."Red Hair" had a twin who died ,that's we are told when Matelot meets "Bouche D'Or".The word was also used by George Sand in "La Petite Fadette".