Getting set to see Robert Hossein and Roger Vadim team up for the all-star S&M fest Vice and Virtue (1963-also reviewed),I stumbled across an overlooked movie that they made 9 years later. Seeing that it had a shorter running time to V&V,I decided that it was the perfect time to meet Hellé.
View on the film:
Taking on a supporting role, Robert Hossein gives a very good performance as Kleber,whose tiredness Hossein flourishes to show a man who is out in step,and out of time with events.
Joining Hossein, Bruno Pradal wonderfully fills in the background info on Julien Fournier,with stiff twitches which hint at the battered state the war has left him in. Never delivering a line of dialogue, Gwen Welles gives a mythical performance as Hellé,by Welles getting Hellé's voice across with a very expressive,emotive face that dips the film into Fantasy.
Scattering the effects of Julien's tour of duty to the background,the screenplay by co-writer/(along with Monique Lange & Jean Mailland) director Vadim blends harsh small town Drama with startling flight of Fantasy. Gradually revealing the extent that Julien's mind has broken,the writers give Fabrice and Hellé romance a breezy, fantastical shine,which is shattered by harrowing reality.
Shaking the film from ever being settled, Vadim & cinematographer Claude Renoir bring noise to Hellé's world in a fragmented,ultra-stylized nature,thanks to Fabrice and Hellé romance being set alight with jagged,earthy shots of green and white,as Hellé makes her voice heard.
View on the film:
Taking on a supporting role, Robert Hossein gives a very good performance as Kleber,whose tiredness Hossein flourishes to show a man who is out in step,and out of time with events.
Joining Hossein, Bruno Pradal wonderfully fills in the background info on Julien Fournier,with stiff twitches which hint at the battered state the war has left him in. Never delivering a line of dialogue, Gwen Welles gives a mythical performance as Hellé,by Welles getting Hellé's voice across with a very expressive,emotive face that dips the film into Fantasy.
Scattering the effects of Julien's tour of duty to the background,the screenplay by co-writer/(along with Monique Lange & Jean Mailland) director Vadim blends harsh small town Drama with startling flight of Fantasy. Gradually revealing the extent that Julien's mind has broken,the writers give Fabrice and Hellé romance a breezy, fantastical shine,which is shattered by harrowing reality.
Shaking the film from ever being settled, Vadim & cinematographer Claude Renoir bring noise to Hellé's world in a fragmented,ultra-stylized nature,thanks to Fabrice and Hellé romance being set alight with jagged,earthy shots of green and white,as Hellé makes her voice heard.
