Mado

Obvious, the presence of Romy Schneider, as a drop of essence , too short, more than symbolic , remains, for me, the basic virtue of film.

Near it, the nice work of Ottavia Piccolo, reminding one of feminine characters of Piero della Francesca.

The must bizarre symbol - the bogged down cars ( the hope to be a piece of revenge of maleficent Lepidon ).

No doubts, nice intentions but too large circles.

But, a Claude Sautet film remains, always, a Sautet.

25 years old, sober camera-work and set in and around Paris that we don't really get to see, and yet this is a pure gem. Actors that don't act but are their characters, with Piccoli amazing as ever, and a way too brief an appearance of Romy Schneider -for about ten minutes- that will be truely unforgettable for any movie-lover. A gripping story too, with a political undercurrent that seems to be of every day. A marvelous film, surely not to be missed !!

Sautet had jettisoned his films noirs influences which gave the great "Classes tous Risques" and the good "L'Arme à Gauche" .One could have thought that "Max et les Ferrailleurs" his best film in the seventies would herald a return to form as well as a return to what he did best.

But "Vincent François ,Paul et les Autres " had continued his chronicles of bourgeois-with-a-tender-heart which "Cesar et Rosalie" had begun ("les Choses de la Vie" is a different matter since it has an emotional power the subsequent works have not) "Mado" is more of the same.Bourgeois "in danger of despair" to quote Sautet himself.And zombie Dutronc on top of that.The scene when the cars get bogged down in the mud is the most grotesque metaphor I 've ever seen in a movie."It's the movie itself which gets bogged down " sneered the critics at the time.

Romy Schneider's fans ,beware!Her appearance does not exceed five minutes (in a 2hours+ movie)!

A few years ago The BFI showed a season of the films of Claude Sautet. It proved to be a revelation to many who were unfamiliar with his work. I seem to recall that 'Mado' was the one about which members were less inclined to enthuse. The comparative paucity of reviews on IMDB would seem to reinforce that view. Speaking as an avowed devotee of Sautet's work I am the first to admit that this is not one of his best. I would even concede that it is a misfire, to which all good directors are occasionally prone. The material does not really justify a running time of two hours and it takes an age to get going. There are also far too many uninteresting and extraneous characters. It concerns a man who is under tremendous financial strain after the suicide of his business partner. Help comes from an unexpected source but everything comes at a price and not only financial! Michel Piccoli, who found international fame in Sautet's 'Les Choses de ma Vie' is here working with him for the fourth time. His performance as Simon is riveting and is probably the reason one sticks with the film. One of Sautet's strengths is in intimate scenes and Piccoli is ably complemented in these by Ottavia Piccolo, Charles Denner and the magical Romy Schneider whose all too brief appearance leaves us wanting more which is always the mark of a great star. There are many of course who would have gone to see this precisely because of Schneider's participation so one can readily appreciate their disappointment at the smallness of her role, however effective. There is an excellent cameo by Claude Dauphin whose artistry marks him out as one of the Old School. Good writing from Claude Neron and a fine score by Philippe Sarde. I would certainly not recommend this film unreservedly to those who are coming to Sautet for the first time as this might deter them from discovering his many cinematic gems which would be a disservice to both them and Sautet!

Mado came as part of a Romy Schneider 3-pack from Panoceanic films, the other two being Les innocents aux mains sales and Le mouton enrage. It's the weakest of the three because of Claude Sautet's clumsy direction: this man always packs his movies with as many bit players as he can, possibly because he doesn't trust his ability to make a scene work using only two actors in the frame. The finale in the rainstorm with the road turned to mud is made even worse by the fifteen or so actors who have to create some stage business out of nothing.

Another cavil: as others have pointed out, Romy Schneider is onscreen for barely five minutes and gets equal billing with Piccoli and Piccolo who have so much more to do. The supporting actors are thankfully very good: Michel Aumont and Julien Guiomar are villainous as corrupt real estate moguls, and Charles Denner, whom I've loved in many films, does a great job with a crook who wants to see justice done, on his terms.