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Revival can't put sparkle in cynical 'Marie'
Friday, July 30, 1999
By PAULA NECHAK
An old movie that is restored and given a gold-medal makeover with some remastering and remixing is presumed to be a masterpiece or a genuinely "worthy" cause.
The recent reissues of "Young Girls of Rochefort," "Umbrellas of Cherbourg," "Touch of Evil" and "The Third Man" certainly qualified.
But "La Marie du port," a rather incidental and enigmatic film that French director Marcel Carne made in 1949, doesn't, even though it's being shown in a new 35mm print courtesy of the Rohauer Archive during a weeklong run at the Grand Illusion.
Carne, who began his career as a photographer and died in 1996, was widely regarded as one of France's premier directors. He had a brilliant decade beginning in the late '30s -- assisted by his collaboration with the writer Jacques Prevert and his association with a troupe of actors including Jean Gabin and Jean-Louis Barrault. "Les Enfants du Paradis," arguably his greatest film, came from this period.
Carne utilizes Gabin's middle-aged calm -- here a wizened cynicism -- effectively in "La Marie du port." But the film, based upon a novel by prolific writer Georges Simenon (he created the Inspector Maigret detective series) doesn't have much that's exceptional save Gabin and the luminous black-and-white cinematography.
MOVIE REVIEW
La Marie du port. Directed by Marcel Carne. Written by Carne, Louis Chavance, Evremont Dessaignes. Cast: Jean Gabin, Nicole Courcel. Les Films Corona/Rohauer Archive. Grand Illusion. 95 minutes. Unrated. In French with English subtitles.
Grade: B-
It tells a simple story with the most elemental of themes. Rich restaurant owner Henri Chatelard (Gabin) drives his mistress, Odile le Flem (Blanchette Brunoy), from Cherbourg to her tiny seaport village, Port-en-Bessin, for her father's funeral. The lack of affection between the couple is evident. When Henri meets Odile's young sister, Marie (Nicole Courcel), he falls for her careless charm.
Soon Henri's attentions are noticed by the township and Marie senses a kindred spirit in the much older man. Their mutual ennui and lack of romantic foolishness becomes the spark that fuels this uncommon relationship. But when Marie presses for more, Henri retreats to the safety of his regulated life in Cherbourg.
The pessimistic lack of illusion of age versus the reckless, uncontrolled passion of youth prevails in "La Marie du port" (as it reigned in the novels of many writers of the era). But just as ennui enfolds Henri, it also tinges Carne's film with a fatal cynicism and lethargy. We can admire its visual appeal and Gabin's crusty performance but the lack of heart and purpose ultimately leaves us to ponder why this film, considering all of Carne's worthier movies, was revived.
Paula Nechak is a free-lance writer who can be reached by e-mail at RidMonster@aol.com
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