Skip to main content

Marius

Director: Alexander Korda
Year: 1931
Run-time: 2 hr 7 min
Source: Criterion Channel Streaming

Notable For:  Adapted from a play by Marcel Pagnol, Marius is the first in a trilogy of films set in Marseille that develops Pagnol's rich and diverse cast of characters.  Pagnol's dialogue deftly maneuvers between comedy and dramatic poignancy.  Few films of this era can make appropriate use of so many wonderful characters, including but not limited to Marius himself, his paramour Fanny, and their respective parents Cesar and Alida.  Korda's direction respects the script but enhances the sense of place, a small, comfortable town on the French coast which Marius longs to escape.  It's a landmark French film that mixes drama and comedy in a different way than Chaplin pioneered.

Verdict:  Marius is an accessible, charming film that deserves a bigger audience (although it certainly has its champions).  The performances are strong, and though the story is simple, it's compelling as a romance.  The only aspect that tempers my enthusiasm is Marius' character himself, whose decisions never quite earn my empathy.  (Couldn't he just leave for eight months and come back to marry Fanny?)  Nevertheless, the strength of Fanny and Cesar in this film makes me extremely excited to watch the other entries in this trilogy.  Overall, this one's a winner.
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

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

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