Reviews & Ratings for
Sortilèges More at IMDbPro »

3 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
Do not break the spell., 8 September 2007

Author: dbdumonteil

Spellbinding,fascinating film,in a wintry snowy atmosphere which Christian-Jaque's camera perfectly captures.Wonderful pictures:the dead body in the snow raising a hand;the dark horse,galloping in the mountains,as if this animal were demanding justice for his murdered master;the fete ,with the dance complete with quaint instruments ... The whole movie is a feast for the eye .The soundtrack essentially consists of the old French folk song "Aux Marches du Palais " (which Serge Bourguignon would use again in "Cybèle Et Les Dimanches de Ville D'Avray" aka "Sundays and Cybèle" ) which is played again and again,and even sung in full by Renée Faure.

If the film is visually a splendor,I do not think that Prévert's screenplay is perfect .It sometimes drags on and the first dialog between Ledoux and Coedel is rather talky;so is Pigaut's and Faure's interminable love scene.Renée Faure is not attractive enough to portray a romantic peasant girl successfully.She is overshadowed,every step of the way ,by sensational Madeleine Robinson ,one of the greatest actresses France has ever had.Robinson and Pigaut had already teamed up in Claude Autant-Lara's classic "Douce" (1942) and the scenes where they are together (particularly the ball)takes the film out on a level of stratospheric intensity that simply rises above the rest and makes the

Faure/Pigaut scenes bland by comparison.

Like this?Try these:

"Goupi Mains Rouges" Jacques Becker 1943

"L'Assassinat du Père Noel" Christian -Jaque 1941

"Barry" Richard Pottier 1949

2 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
The Little Madeleine, 16 November 2007

Author: writers_reign from London, England

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

At first glance you could be forgiven for assuming that Christian Jacque was revisiting L'Assassinat de Pere Noel which he made for Continental three years earlier; remote setting, wintry landscapes, etc but actally there is much more on offer, not least Madeleine Robinsion who, as a previous poster has rightly said, was one of the finest French actresses of her generation; it was her misfortune to appear in films that were aimed at domestic rather than international markets so that unlike Danielle Darrieux, Edwige Feuilliere, Micheline Presle, Arletty, etc, all of whom were, of course, equally gifted but contrived to be seen and/or work outside France, Robinson remains one of the best-kept secrets in French cinema. A script by Jacques Prevert doesn't exactly impair a film either if anybody asks you and here he is right on top of his game; add some stunning images, a horse against the snow, etc, and we're talking another winner.

2 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
An unknown ww2 french film, 17 March 1999

Author: dumont (lucdum@caramail.com) from Paris, France

Sortilèges is an excellent film made by Christian-Jaque, a french director known by his comedies, on a marvellous scenario from Jacques Prévert. it shows that the french poet he was made very good films without Marcel Carné, the director he is too much associated. The film is very dark (as its B&W) and takes place in a little village lost in the mountain. The contrast between the murder and the snow is very symbolical. Besides the french love story between two young fellows, the character of the Bellman (Lucien Coëdel) has a very interessant psychology. Unfortunately, the film is nowadays totally forgotten and I doubt that people could see it easily... but a piracle may always happen ! In this case, I hope that my point of view will be shared and that Sortilèges will cross the Atlantic to be appreciated !

Spellbinding Noir, 16 June 2011

Author: Rob Cochran (rob@filmnoirfilms.com) from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

A very dark and spellbinding film of jealousy and murder set in a little village lost in the French Alps. At first glance you could be forgiven for assuming that director Christian-Jacque (UN REVENANT) was revisiting L'ASSASSINAT DE PERE NOEL which he made for Continental three years earlier; remote setting and wintry landscapes, but actually there is much more to offer, not least Madeleine Robinsion who was one of the finest French actresses of her generation. With a top rate script by Jacques Prevert and camera work of stunning images: a dead body in the snow raising a hand, a black horse galloping mount less as if it were demanding justice for his murdered master and a rural fete complete with quaint musicians and their rustic instruments; The whole movie is a feast for the eyes. The soundtrack essentially consists of the old French folk song "Aux Marches du Palais" which is played throughout the film.

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