Skip to main content

Cœur fidèle (Faithful Heart)

Director: Jean Epstein
Year: 1923
Runtime: 1 hr 27 min
Source: Archive.org (English subs found elsewhere online)

Part of the reason I'm using this list is the high possibility of great unknown foreign classics, and this definitely fits that bill.  Faithful Heart is an extremely early example of what would Quentin Tarantino once characterized as the classic stereotype of European film-making: the plot is painfully simple and there are few surprises, but it hits home because of effective editing and pacing.

In this case, we have an orphaned girl Marie who falls in love with a kind dockworker Jean, but is forced by her cruel adoptive parents to marry a local drunkard with the unfortunate name Petit Paul.  Jean and Petit Paul end up brawling, Jean ends up in jail while Petit Paul escapes, and by the time Jean gets out Petit Paul and Marie have an infant child.  I won't spoil the end, except to say that no one comes out of this story looking very responsible, save for an innocent disabled woman played by Jean's sister and collaborator Marie.  (It did occur to me that the two lovers in this movie share names with the director and his sister, but don't really know if anything needs to be made of this.)

The rather plaintive melodrama is entirely rescued by some phenomenal cinematography and editing, as well as strong performances by the leads, masters of silent film expressions.  There are powerful close-ups that are reminiscent of Dreyer, double exposures and fade outs.  My favorite image is how a slightly turbulent sea is imposed onto a shot of the two lovers, and becomes symbolic of their relationship.  Somehow the image is both calming and foreshadows the pain in their future.

Given such a strong piece, I don't know why Jean Epstein seems to be almost completely forgotten today.  In a way, he seems like the natural first link in a chain that leads to Bresson and Godard - the start of a grand French tradition.  (Feuillade is wonderful, but not sure how he fits into that tradition.)
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bringing Up Baby

Director: Howard Hawks Year: 1938 Run-time: 1 hr 42 min - Bringing Up Baby  is in my mind the epitome of the screwball comedy, and probably its finest example.  Hepburn and Grant are just so perfect in their roles, and the level of constant absurdity gets to the point where it overrides any cultural datedness and just becomes fun.  (The main exception is the Irish stereotype, but given that he is justified in how he behaves, it's excusable.)  I was a bit shocked to discover that this was not a commercial success, and indeed almost ruined Hepburn's career (she had the most to lose, given how novel her quirky performance is). - Looking back at the three screwballs so far on this list, it never occurred to me before how the genre seems to rely on a rich and "privileged" female lead to be the one to challenge and emasculate the male lead.  Perhaps that was the acceptable way to present it to a depression-era audience?
Post a Comment
Read more

Partie de campagne (A Day In the Country)

Director: Jean Renoir Year: 1936 Run-time: 40 min - You can tell that French film is thriving in 1936 by the fact that a film by Renoir is the worst of the last three on the list.  (Renoir has two 1936 films on the list - and other classics from this year that didn't make the cut.)  That's only really due to its brevity, and the fact that it wasn't properly finished due to extenuating circumstances.  What exists is still pretty excellent - putting the elegant but slight story aside, it's Renoir's ode to the natural world, which never quite came through before due to the bluntness of 1930's cinematography.  In fact, it's the only Renoir film I've seen in which he channels something of his father's eye for natural beauty (a fact he alludes to himself in a later commentary he gave on the film).
Post a Comment
Read more

The Cat Concerto

Directors: William Hanna and Joseph Barbera Year: 1947 I'm sure it's no coincidence that music plays such a strong role in many of the animated films featured on the list. By this point, there's nothing especially novel about this Tom and Jerry  short by another great animation studio led by Hanna and Barbera, except that the execution is so spot-on. This is eight minutes of pure delight. 
Post a Comment
Read more