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Toni

Director: Jean Renoir
Year: 1935
Run-time: 1 hr 30 min

- This is a film about immigrants in the south of France, but in my opinion at least it doesn't have too much to say about the immigrant experience, except as it relates to class.  In some sense I suppose it matters that the woman leaves Toni in order to be with an abusive native-born man matters, but it's hard for me to say just how the story would be different if Toni himself was French.  But it is a top-class story about relationships, with a heavy dose of melodrama but always with its eye on practicalities.  If the acting was a bit better, it would rank among Renoir's top films, but as such it's still an excellent watch.
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