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César

Director: Marcel Pagnol
Year: 1936
Run-time: 2 hr 48 min

- I was greatly looking forward to the end of the fantastic Marseille trilogy, and it did not disappoint.  The last two films were based on plays by Pagnol - this is the only film that he directed himself.  Its characters, caught between societal expectations and their own wayward desires, are the most richly realized humans I've encountered on this list.  After being so pragmatic for so long, the finale finally gets to let Fanny and Marius have the relationship they deserve, without hurting anyone else.  The dialogue isn't quite as snappy this time around (perhaps because it's not based on a pre-existing play), but the film still got me teared up.  My main complaint is that the title character, so excellent in the last two films, doesn't get as much to do in this way, and that's a shame because the mononymic Raimu is such an outstanding actor.
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