I regret to admit that I know very little about Director Pierre Boutron, having only seen one of his works before - LES ANNÉES SANDWICHES, which I so enjoyed that I eagerly pounced on the opportunity to watch this 2004 effort, a reprise of the debut of one of my all-time favorite French directors: Jean-Pierre Melville.
I am no fan of remakes, so I approached Boutron's film with some misgiving and uncertainty, promising myself that I would stop the moment I found it clearly the inferior of the famous original.
I am happy to say that I did not. In fact, I found it an improvement on the Melville effort. It flows better and acting is definitely more polished. Julie Delarme, who was 26 at the time but plays a young woman in her late teens, carries a great deal of feeling, conveyed mainly through glances, silences, and repressed emotions. Galabru also deserves plaudits, although his is a much smaller and less demanding part. Thomas Jouannet, portraying Werner, the respectful, well-mannered, music- and art-loving German officer who occupies one of the rooms in the house owned by Galabru, emerges as a honest, civilized figure as France sinks deeper and deeper under the grip of German occupation. Unlike Vernon Howard in the 1949 original, he does not try to atone for his fatherland's faults, he does not wander through the streets of Paris admiring the architecture and what it expresses about the French "soul" that Germany purportedly sought to eradicate through occupation and brainwashing. Jouannet sensitively tunes in to the human beings whose house he occupies against his own will. Marie Bunel also delivers a fine performance as the woman who places geraniums on her window sill when she receives Resistance fighters.
Effective, simple, well done cinematography by Alain Levent. Great script by Anne Giaferi, keeping dialogue to short sentences. Through looks, tears, and silence, Boutron fills in the viewer on emotions and deeper states of mind.
Definitely worth more than one viewing. 9/10.
