Jours tranquilles à Clichy

I only heard about this when the Blue Underground DVD first came out; of course, I was aware of controversial author Henry Miller, on whose novel the film was based - whose work, incidentally, was contemporaneously being transposed to celluloid for the first time via the late Joseph Strick's TROPIC OF CANCER (1970).

Anyway, it was merely a coincidence that I ended up acquiring the two film versions of the book (the other being the 1990 adaptation by Claude Chabrol) virtually simultaneously! Since I was going through a retrospective of that director's work anyway, I decided to check this one beforehand; well, I am glad that my generally negative reaction to it did not give me second thoughts about passing on the remake (as the latter was a more rewarding, and altogether different, experience – but more on that in its own review)! Anyway, I have never been fond of Erotica per se and this is pretty much what one got here: some critics praised the kaleidoscopic style adopted here (actually borrowed from Richard Lester) but this particular approach dates the film more than anything else. Besides, it is further bogged down by the lack of a proper plot (a fault which is much better disguised in the later version), revolting detail (the graphic sexuality on display got it banned in the U.S. on original release – atypically, this is a Danish picture shot in the English language and black-and-white) and characters who seem to have crawled from under rocks (especially the two leads)!

In essence, we follow the dreary and over-sexed exploits of two penniless bohemians (the more studious-looking of whom is supposed to be an alter-ego for the author himself); they become involved with several women, of various ages and nationalities, and not even that good-looking in many cases. Eventually, they both become attached to someone in particular but, with respect to the protagonist's companion, the girl in question is a 14-year old half-wit!; in the end, the film just ends abruptly as if its makers had suddenly run out of money themselves…or film stock or, quite simply, ideas! However, the eclectic score is a big plus – some of it typically French and the rest comprised of numerous conceptual songs by Country Joe (McDonald) of the psychedelic and radical "Country Joe & The Fish" band fame.

This is a poetic movie describing recollection of aging Henry Miller of his stay in Paris before the WWII. It follow the adventures decribed in the book of the same title. The movie has both good humor and great bodies. I would love to have a copy of this movie in any format.

I first learned of Henry Miller when he appeared as a witness in Warren Beatty's "Reds", but his name really caught my attention in "Kill Your Darlings", about Allen Ginsberg's college years. In the movie, Ginsberg (Daniel Radcliffe) is interested in Miller's works, but the school bans the students from reading them.

Anyway, I've never read any of Miller's works, but Jens Jørgen Thorsen's "Stille dage i Clichy" ("Quiet Days in Clichy" in English) is a third-degree WTF. While I can't compare it to Miller's novel, I can say that this movie succeeds in being shocking, if lacking a coherent plot. Probably the only movie that I've seen that features any scenes taking place in Luxembourg. But overall, not anything that I would truly recommend, unless you want to hear unusual songs by Country Joe and the Fish.

If you were there at the time the film makes sense. All of the taboos were there to be broken and this one tried to break them all at once just to prove it could get away with it. So there's naked women everywhere (in poses 'pushing out the envelope' of the day), bad language and lavatorial humour in abundance. My guess is that the producers were so fixated on pushing back the boundaries of the then conventional taste, that even the most the most rudimentary craftsmanship was contemptuously discarded.

So it's a pity that the acting is terrible, wit is noticeable by its absence and the nudes aren't really all that exciting. Some gross outs can be amusing. These ones were not.

With very little effort this could have been so much more fun and put one over on the wicked establishment at the same time.

Watch 'I Am Curious' instead. It's (they're) no great shakes but much better than this.

My girlfriend said she'd never seen a porno film, so she dragged me into the cinema to see "Stille Dage i Clichy" in Copenhagen, when the film was new. To say it's a bad film is to overvalue Warhol's "Flesh." It was worse. The only good bit was right at the beginning, with the play on "Gray Day." After that, it was downhill all the way.

The acting was abysmal. The plot... well, what plot? The "Germs won't attack a starving man" scene was memorably sickening. The bonking was overdone and hugely "in your face."

For a poetic film, See "Last Year in Marienbad." Spot the difference.

IMHO, Miller wasn't a particularly good writer. His books did, however, mark a turning-point in censorship. This film, though, has about the same artistic qualities as "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and "The Toolbox Murders."

When the film ended, though, it was interesting to note that, while the women in the audience stood and put on their cardis and coats, the blokes sat quite still for a minute or so :-) .