La kermesse héroïque (1935)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Jacques Feyder

Writers:

Charles Spaak (story)
Bernard Zimmer (screenplay)

Release Date:

22 September 1936 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | History | Romance

Plot:

Tells the story of the Spanish invasion of Flanders

Plot Keywords:

Flanders | Mayor | Invasion | Invader | Duke

Awards:

4 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Françoise Rosay	...	Cornelia de Witte, Madame la Bourgmestre / Madame Burgomaster
André Alerme	...	Korbus de Witte, le bourgmestre / The Burgomaster (as Alerme)
Jean Murat	...	Le duc d'Olivarès / The Duke
Louis Jouvet	...	Le chapelain / The Priest
Lyne Clevers	...	La poissonnière / The Fish-Wife (as Lynne Clevers)
Micheline Cheirel	...	Siska
Maryse Wendling	...	La boulangère / The Baker's Wife
Ginette Gaubert	...	L'aubergiste / The Inn-Keeper's Wife
Marguerite Ducouret	...	La femme du brasseur / The Brewer's Wife
Bernard Lancret	...	Julien Breughel
Alfred Adam	...	Josef Van Meulen, le boucher
Pierre Labry	...	L'aubergiste / The Inn-Keeper
Arthur Devère	...	Le poissonnier / The Fishmonger (as Arthur Devere)
Marcel Carpentier	...	Le boulanger / The Baker
Alexander D'Arcy	...	Le capitaine / The Captain (as Alexandre Darcy)

Also Known As:

Carnival in Flanders (USA)

Runtime:

110 min | USA:95 min

Country:

France | Germany

Language:

French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16

Filming Locations:

Studios Tobis, Epinay-sur-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis, France

Company:

Films Sonores Tobis

Trivia:

Grand Prix du Cinéma Français 1936.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Cincinnati Kid (1965)

The women's hour

"La Kermesse Heroique" is looked upon,in France ,as Jacques Feyder's apex as well as the beginning of his decline .

This is a colorful entertaining work,with wonderful settings ,costumes,actors ,folk songs and scenes inspired by the Flemish art (the mayoress' daughter is in love with a painter ,Jean Brueghel.) The director's wife,Françoise Rosay (who was also featured in the two previous works "Le Grand Jeu" and "Pension Mimosas " and would be the star of the next work "Les Gens Du Voyage" ) finds here the role of a lifetime : the mayoress character was probably inspired by the strong wives or servants we find in Molière's plays (Madame Jourdain,Toinette).Rosay has the first part of the movie for herself ,but she shares the acting honors with Louis Jouvet's mischievous part of the chaplain;an opportunity for Spaak to laugh at religion;during the banquet ,the nice innocent young ladies ask the ecclesiastic to tell them a tale of the Holy Office :the clergyman tells them the tale of a virgin whose body was covered with honey and licked by a he-goat,the guests have wonderful time!And when the holy man ,leaving the town,is given chocolate by an inhabitant:he smiled his thanks and gives her ,as a bonus, some indulgences!I hope she was not protestant.

In this Flemish town,where people are gathering for the fair ,men are cowards :as soon the coming of the Spaniards is announced,they hide their money ("superior significance women cannot understand" ),or they pretend that they are dead (the mayor).A false flash-forward depicts the cruelty of the invaders.

Not only the occupying forces treat the woman as ladies ,but they show romanticism - the mayoress dreaming of Italy, the chaplain marrying "Romeo" to "Juliet" - and a sense of humor -the duke has obviously guessed that the mayoress is not a widow.

Today,Feyder is eclipsed by Renoir ,Carné -who was here his assistant again ,after "Pension Mimosas" - or Duvivier;he seems to enjoy a good reputation abroad though;"Kermesse" and the two other works I mention above are essential viewing for anyone interested in the French cinema.