Director: Marc Allégret
Year: 1932
Run-time: 2 hr 7 min
Source: Criterion Channel Streaming
Notable For: This is the sequel to Marius, and the second in a beloved trilogy of French films based on contemporary plays by Marcel Pagnol. It picks up immediately after the first film left off, changing the focus from the young man full of wanderlust to the woman that he carelessly leaves behind. All of the great actors return from the first film. The mood weaves behind wry, character-based humor to extremely poignant drama. There's a remarkable and novel compassion for women in this film, and the relevance to feminism may be one factor in the film's being remade twice.
Verdict: I liked Marius, but Fanny is revelatory in how it puts the first film into a greater dramatic context. A contemporary moviegoer might well sympathize with Marius' desire to see more than his confining hometown, but the tremendous hardship that he imposes on Fanny, who is left heartbroken and pregnant, makes it clear just how much he screwed up. Fanny's tremendous bravery, in spite of her shy and reserved nature, in a situation that would be terrifying in the 1930's (and even today), makes her cinema's first great heroine. This is a film that encourages us to be sympathetic to each of its characters, despite their flaws. I really can't wait to watch the third film in the series, which promises to shine the spotlight on Marius' father, played by Raimu, one of the finest actors we've met on the list so far.
Year: 1932
Run-time: 2 hr 7 min
Source: Criterion Channel Streaming
Notable For: This is the sequel to Marius, and the second in a beloved trilogy of French films based on contemporary plays by Marcel Pagnol. It picks up immediately after the first film left off, changing the focus from the young man full of wanderlust to the woman that he carelessly leaves behind. All of the great actors return from the first film. The mood weaves behind wry, character-based humor to extremely poignant drama. There's a remarkable and novel compassion for women in this film, and the relevance to feminism may be one factor in the film's being remade twice.
Verdict: I liked Marius, but Fanny is revelatory in how it puts the first film into a greater dramatic context. A contemporary moviegoer might well sympathize with Marius' desire to see more than his confining hometown, but the tremendous hardship that he imposes on Fanny, who is left heartbroken and pregnant, makes it clear just how much he screwed up. Fanny's tremendous bravery, in spite of her shy and reserved nature, in a situation that would be terrifying in the 1930's (and even today), makes her cinema's first great heroine. This is a film that encourages us to be sympathetic to each of its characters, despite their flaws. I really can't wait to watch the third film in the series, which promises to shine the spotlight on Marius' father, played by Raimu, one of the finest actors we've met on the list so far.
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