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Grégory
Reviews
Méditerranée (1963)
morbid & illuminate feeling
One of the most incredible attempt of the cinema's history. 40 minutes and a single subject (glorious ambition) : how to film the Méditeranée ? Pollet built a space of sensation, putting things in line without explicit intentions. He didn't film himself more than a half of this movie, he has just ordering things (antique ruins, corrida, dead girl after the operation, factory, Horus) according with his own obsessions : darkness, morbid & illuminate feeling, chaos ('when there is life, there is death and there is chaos' he seems to say) and pain. In France, Pollet was considered as a great film director after it - he gave a shock. We can't believe he's unknown in other country so, react !
Le Horla (1966)
Private Hell
This movie is a command by Sandoz, the famous Switzerland's laboratory, who wants something about drug effects : Pollet has the idea to make an adaptation of "Le Horla" by Guy de Maupassant. Indeed, drug equals paranoia. The Laurent Terzieff's performance is constantly remarkable - he's alone in this film - and the point of view of Pollet is dark, worrying, unstable. It's much more than a curiosity : the private hell of a man who's going crazy for no reasons, except himself. Difficult to see because it's hard to find (especially in USA I guess) but essential regarding the density of Pollet's vision.
Bitter Victory (1957)
"I Kill the Living, & I'm saving the Dead !"
Nicholas Ray, at his best. His usual purpose - a man who's acting like a boy - at an unusual degree of intensity : Richard Burton is here, giving a high feeling that he's lost in his own contemporary world. I get shocked each time I see it.
Canicule (1984)
What a mess
Horrible, completely ridiculous with a not so slight touch of vulgarity. Lee Marvin is completely lost in this awful and irrealistic world. No interest.
Black Narcissus (1947)
Strange and exciting
This film is maybe the best Powell-Pressburger's movies (never forget Pressburger). Colours, flashy people, Jean Simon's...everything's great. The last scene is incredible with the music. I think there's something special, a little bit morbid, behind the story we see : things behind the sun, a higher level of reality - like in Campbell Gault's book. Strange and exciting. Maybe the wind who drives people crazy is the real subject !
La belle équipe (1936)
Everyone's bad.
Absolute classic masterpiece. Julien Duvivier's usual thematic (everyone's bad) is here, but stronger and faster. I have seen the two ends - optimist (not very interesting) and pessimist (very hard to find, with german undertitle, but it was the one that Duvivier wants) and the second one broke all my hopes in human race. You must absolutely find the second one, a message from an old time when french cinema was the best in the world.