Le grand Meaulnes

I saw LGM in French with subtitles (and two years of high school French!). It felt like a pleasant dream (visual, ideas), and I remembered it quite well -- but I had forgotten the title. I described it to a French friend several years later, and he named it for me right away. If I see it advertised for a theatre again, I'll definitely go, now that my French is a little better and my appreciation of fantasy much enhanced.

I've been lucky enough to see this film three times - I once made a 200 mile return journey in an evening to see it at one of its rare screenings - and would watch it again and again if only it were ever screened. It captures perfectly both the dream quality and the desperate tragedy of Alain-Fournier's novel.

The film has haunted me for 30 years, since I first saw it at the age of 13.

If you spot it at your local arts cinema, go and see it.

Come on someone, release the subtitled version on video. After a long and arduous search, I managed to buy the non-subtitled version, but there must be a big enough English-speaking market to make it worth someone's while.

*The unsubtitled version is available at http://www.priceminister.com **Apparently, the subtitled version is available from the Connoisseur Video Collection of Ingram International Films (1-800-356-3577) for $79.95. It's 108 minutes long, VHS format, French with English subtitles.

Filmed in cinemascope, and making full use of the aspect ratio, watching this film is like being immersed in another world. For much of the first quarter of the movie, we're at a strange party at a country house, and very little in the way of dialogue is spoken to explain things. We are simply there, and the camera prowls through the crowd and around the house and grounds, and we follow, seeing what it sees, and trying to piece it all together. It's a bravura opening, and the film stalls a little afterwards, until it once again establishes its rhythm. It's a tale of a young man, wandering, searching for a path in life, and the constantly mobile camera expresses his wanderlust, just as the beauty (and sometimes strangeness) of the shots expresses his amazed and youthful eye on the world. It's too bad that this film is not available in its original, uncut length, indeed that it's totally unavailable anywhere (except, perhaps, France?), because it is a hidden treasure. Anyone who cares for the art and craft of movie-making should watch this film. Not only is it expertly made, it packs an emotional punch too. It's not to be compared to the novel, because film works differently. But the spirit of the book is intact, and the translation into visual terms is as stunning as the original prose.

After years of looking, I found the DVD of Le Grand Meaulnes sitting on the shelf in Virgin Megastore on the Champs Elysees in Paris. It seems to have been recently published. It's in French of course and without sub titles but if you know the film, then you know the book too and don't need the English. There is some biographical material about Alain-Fournier on the DVD plus the original cinema trailer (and even a bonus second DVD, La Fille aux Yeux D'or, also by Albicocco).

I saw the film of Le Grand Meaulnes back in 1973/4 and again sometime during the Eighties at a London screening. It is still as fresh, original and magical now as it was then. In some respects, the 1972 Nicholas Roeg film of Don't Look Now, also a classic of its kind, has some echoes of this Albicocco masterpiece - mainly in the use of light and its effects, but also in some scenes: a red brooch is held to the light, the passing boats on the lake, Yvonne de Galais falling in the stream, the time shifts in the narrative.

I have been looking for a copy of this movie for over 10 years.

I remember some of the scenes, the light, the colours. Our group of friends, and one especially who is about the best photographer in the world, had gone to new york city to view this movie. I am still, 40 years later, viewing that movie in my mind. I see that this film has affected many viewers the same way. This movie was so visual it was tactile. why can't I find this movie again? WAhhhhh!!!

Its has to be an incredible movie to stick with you for over 40 years in such a strong way. If anyone has a copy of it or knows where to find a copy hopefully with subtitles, please let me know. I would ever be so grateful. Regards, sheri