Based on the short story by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Le notti bianche (White Nights) is the story of a newly arrived city transplant who meets a sheltered young woman on a canal bridge as they begin a complicated romance that is filled with longing and unfulfilled ideas. Directed and co-shot by Luchino Visconti and screenplay by Suso Cecchi D’Amico from a screen story by Visconti, the film is a look into a man trying to figure out his way in the world while falling for a beautiful yet troubled young woman. Starring Marcello Mastroianni, Maria Schell, Jean Marais, and Clara Calamai. Le notti bianche is a haunting yet evocative film from Luchino Visconti.
Told in the span of a few days at a canal city in Italy, the film revolves a man who is new to the city as he meets a young woman on a canal bridge claiming to wait for a former lover whom she believes will return. It’s a film that play into the idea of longing as well as unfulfilled love as a man tries to understand what this young woman is going through just as he is in love with her. The film’s screenplay by Luchino Visconti and Susu Cecchi D’Amico does have a reflective narrative of sorts when it’s told by Natalia (Maria Schell) who is awaiting the return of her former lover (Jean Marais) who was a tenant at her family home years ago as they fell in love only to leave mysteriously claiming he would return. For Mario (Marcello Mastroianni), he would listen to Natalia’s story while isn’t sure if they’re true yet he still pursues her thinking he’s found someone he can be with as he is still new to the small town he’s at.
Visconti’s direction is definitely intoxicating for the way he captures post-war Italy at its most vibrant but also with a sense of melancholia as it relates to those who long to be part of something. Shot entirely at Cinecitta Studios in Rome, Visconti uses this small town filled with canals and bridges at the center with a bar nearby as he brings a lot of attention to detail of the locations as well as where Natalia and Mario meet as they would meet again near the same bridge. Visconti’s usage of wide shots to get a scope of the location play into how vast and small the location is where there are a few regulars of this location including a white dog that Mario would meet early in the film. Visconti would also use close-ups and medium shots to play into Mario and Natalia’s meeting as well as a scene at a club where they dance with other couples as it’s one of the film’s most vibrant moments.
Visconti’s direction also has this air of style in the way he let things play out in a few long shots that include flashbacks of Natalia and her lover at the home of the former. There are moments that are intimate and full of life but there is also this sadness in the way Visconti presents Natalia’s heartbreak as he creates some unique framing devices into the way Natalia is seen in that moment and how it matches with a shot of her telling the story to Mario. Visconti would also play up the melodrama as it relates to Natalia’s own hysterics over her former lover and Mario trying to understand her though he becomes frustrated by her behavior. Even as Mario wonders if Natalia is telling the truth during the film’s third act as it would eventually lead to the possibility of a future for themselves. The scene that play into that possibility is presented with a sense of wonderment and hope yet Visconti is aware that these ideas of fantasy are just fleeting once reality would start to re-emerge. Overall, Visconti crafts an intoxicating yet somber film about a man pursuing a sheltered woman who is waiting for her lover.
Cinematographer Giuseppe Rotunno, with additional work from Visconti, does brilliant work with the film’s black-and-white photography as it play into its sense of style in how nighttime exteriors are lit as well as the scenes set in the day along with the low-key look of the dance scene. Editor Mario Serandrei does excellent work with the editing as it is straightforward with a few rhythmic cuts and other abrupt cuts to play into Natalia’s flashbacks. Art director Mario Chiari and set designer Enzo Eusepi do incredible work with the look of the scenes set at the canal bridges with so much attention to detail in how the canals look as well as the interior of the bars and the dance hall.
Costume designer Piero Tosi does fantastic work with the costumes from the look of the suits that Mario wear as well as the dresses that Natalia wears. The sound work of Oscar Di Santo and Vittorio Trentino is terrific for its usage of natural sounds in the dance scenes as well as well as sirens and bells from afar. The film’s music by Nino Rota is amazing for its rich and intoxicating orchestral score that is filled with lush string arrangements and textures to play into the drama as it is a major highlight of the film.
The film’s wonderful cast include some notable small roles and appearances from Maria Zanoli as a hotel maid, Marcella Rovena as the landlady at the hotel Mario is staying at, and Clara Calamai as the prostitute who is often hanging around at the bar near the canal bridges as she tries to woo Mario. Jean Marais is brilliant as Natalia’s unnamed lover as this mysterious man who arrived at her home years ago with books and so many things while being cagey in what he wants and what he does for a living. Maria Schell is phenomenal as Natalia as a woman that is longing to see if her lover will return as she also copes with the idea of him not showing up at all where she befriends Mario and later realizes there is an idea of hope with Mario as it’s a performance that is full of anguish and energy of a woman who is complicated. Finally, there’s Marcello Mastroianni in a sensational performance as Mario as man who is new to the city as he meets and falls for Natalia wanting to help her as well as be someone that she can rely on as it’s a performance filled with humility but also liveliness in the film’s dance hall scene as it is one of Mastroianni’s finest performances.
Le notti bianche is a spectacular film from Luchino Visconti that features incredible performances from Marcello Mastroianni and Maria Schell. Along with its gorgeous visuals, captivating story of longing and uncertainty, high-quality art direction, and Nino Rota’s intoxicating score. It’s a film that play into two people trying to find love in an intimate setting at a time where so much around them is changing. In the end, Le notti bianche is a tremendous film from Luchino Visconti.
Related: Two Lovers
Luchino Visconti Films: (Obsessione) – (Giorni di gloria) – (La Terra Firma) – (Bellissima) – (Appunti su un fatto di cronaca) – (We, the Women) – Senso – Rocco and His Brothers - (Boccaccio ’70-Il lavoro) – The Leopard - Sandra – (The Stranger (1967 film)) – The Witches (1967 film)- The Witch Burned Alive – The Damned (1969 film) – (Alla ricerca di Tadzio) – Death in Venice – (Ludwig) – (Conversation Piece) – The Innocent (1976 film)
© thevoid99 2018
Based on the fairy tale by Charles Perrault, Peau d’Ane (Donkey Skin) is the story of a princess who goes into hiding after being asked by her father to marry him. Written for the screen and directed by Jacques Demy, the film is a whimsical musical-fantasy that plays into a princess who goes from riches-to-rags in order to do something for herself. Starring Catherine Deneuve, Jean Marais, Jacques Perrin, Micheline Presle, Fernand Ledoux, Henri Cremieux, Sacha Pitoeff, and Delphine Seyrig. Peau d’Ane is a charming and delightful film from Jacques Demy.
The film is a simple fairy tale where a king deals with the death of his wife where he makes a vow to marry a woman as beautiful as her in which he picks his own daughter much to her own horror as she goes into hiding wearing donkey skin as a robe and pretends to be a scullery maid. It’s a film that plays into the many elements that are expected in fairy tales but it is also very strange considering that hints ideas of incest. There, the princess (Catherine Deneuve) would try to find ways to not go through with this ordeal as she gets the help of her fairy godmother (Delphine Seyrig) where the results would be humiliating but also a moment that would prompt the princess to find herself. The film’s screenplay does follow a traditional structure that is expected in fairy tales but with some of the dialogue that is sung as well as hints of anachronisms that add to the film’s offbeat humor. Yet, it is largely a fantasy as there aren’t any rules in that genre as it is all about the princess trying to find her true love and happiness.
Jacques Demy’s direction is very intoxicating not just in its approach to imagery but also in how he presents the film as an offbeat fairy tale. From the lavish costumes and set designs to the way servants, animals, and other things look, the film is definitely pure fantasy as Demy creates something that is off-the-wall such as a donkey who defecates gold and jewels for his king. Much of Demy’s direction include a lot of medium and wide shots to play into the look of the kingdom and its many locations in the forests while having this strange mix of elegance and dreariness in the world that the princess would embark. Notably as there are scenes of pure fantasy as it relates to the character of Prince Charming (Jacques Perrin) who would encounter the princess unaware of her true identity. It would then play into elements of comedy and mayhem as well as things that can’t explain that is more in tune with the world of fantasy. Overall, Demy creates a sensational and exhilarating film about a princess who refuses to marry her father.
Cinematographer Ghislain Cloquet does brilliant work with the film‘s very rich and colorful photography with its vibrant usage of the Technicolor film stock as plays into the beauty of the locations and settings as well as some unique lighting to play into the element of fantasy that occurs in the film. Editor Anne-Marie Crotet does excellent work with the editing with its stylish usage of slow-motion and reverse edits as well as rhythmic cuts to play into the musical elements in the film. Production designer Jim Leon and art director Jacques Dugied do amazing work with the set design from the look of the castles and its rooms to the shabby hut that the princess would live in her disguise along with the colors of the different kingdoms.
Costume designers Augusto Pace and Gitt Magrini do fantastic work with the costumes from the design of the dresses as well as the clothes the men wear as it plays into the period of time where men wore tights and the women wore lavish gowns. The sound work of Andre Hervee is terrific for some of the sound effects in some of the magical moments as well as some of the moments that goes on in some of the celebrations and other quieter scenes. The film’s music by Michel Legrand is incredible for not just its playful orchestral score but also in the songs that are created for the film as it play into emotions of a few of its characters as well as the sense of hope that they long for as the music is a major highlight of the film.
The film’s marvelous cast includes notable small roles from Pierre Repp as the Red Queen’s messenger Thibauld, Sacha Pitoeff as prime minister for the blue kingdom, Louise Chevalier as the old woman who would give the princess the work she needs to do at the farm, Henri Cremieux as the red kingdom’s physician, Fernand Ledoux and Micheline Presle in their respective roles as the Red King and Queen, and Jean Servais as the voice of the film narrator’s who only appears for the film’s opening and closing sections. Jacques Perrin is excellent as Prince Charming as a young prince who encounters the Princess unaware of her true identity nor her disguise as he falls for her and tries to find out who she is.
Delphine Seyrig is fantastic as the Fairy Godmother who tries to help the Princess while doing things that would baffle the Princess as Seyrig brings a lot of charm to her role including some amazing entrances. Jean Marais is superb as the King as a man who is grief-stricken by the loss of his wife where he is convinced that the only way to save his kingdom is to marry his daughter unaware of how disgusting it is. Finally, there’s Catherine Deneuve in a phenomenal performance in the dual role as the Queen and as her daughter in the Princess where her role in the former is very brief while the latter has Deneuve do a lot more in terms of singing and dealing with her situation as she would provide some charm and humility to her performance as it’s one of Deneuve’s finest roles.
Peau d’Ane is a remarkable film from Jacques Demy. Armed with a great cast, sumptuous visuals, and delightful music, the film isn’t just a fascinating take on a French fairytale but also a film that manages to infuse a lot of quirks and ideas that subvert many of its expectations. In the end, Peau d’Ane is an exquisitely rich film from Jacques Demy.
Jacques Demy Films: (Lola (1961 film)) - Bay of Angels - The Umbrellas of Cherbourg - The Young Girls of Rochefort - Model Shop - (The Pied Piper (1972 film)) - A Slightly Pregnant Man - (Lady Oscar) - (La Naissance du Jour) - Une chambre en ville - (Parking (1985 film)) - (Three Places for the 26th) - Turning Table)
© thevoid99 2015
Based on the fairy tale by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont, La Belle et la Bete (Beauty & the Beast) is the story of a woman who falls for a man who is cursed as a beast as she maybe the key to make him become human again. Written for the screen and directed by Jean Cocteau, the film is a different interpretation of the story as it plays into the idea of fantasy and romance. Starring Jean Marais, Josette Day, Mila Parely, Nane Germon, Michel Auclair, and Marcel Andre. La Belle et la Bete is a ravishing and exhilarating film from Jean Cocteau.
When a man takes a rose from the garden of a mysterious castle for his daughter, he gets in trouble with a mysterious beast until the man’s daughter asks to stay with the beast to spare her father. That is pretty much the premise of the film as it explores a woman who would find the humanity within this beast as she worries for her ailing father who is overcome with guilt over what happened. Especially as he was supposed to gain a fortune from a cargo that was to end his family’s years of unpaid debts but things go wrong where Belle (Josette Marais) would take her father’s place as prisoner for the Beast (Jean Marais). Yet, her stay at his home would reveal sides of him that are quite human as she becomes fond of him though she was recently asked to marry someone else.
Jean Cocteau’s screenplay doesn’t try to make something that is very faithful but add elements of fantasy and mysticism into the film as it relates to Belle’s time with the Beast. A moment where she is treated fairly while helping the Beast which showcases how generous and graceful she is. Especially as she lives in a family where she is loved by her father (Marcel Andre) but is treated poorly by her spoiled sisters Felicie (Mila Parely) and Adelaide (Nane Germon). She is also being wooed by a friend of her brother Ludovic (Michel Auclair) in the form of Avenant (Jean Marais) who is eager to marry her. All of which plays into a third act where Belle does return to look after her ailing father on the promise that she will return to the Beast as Avenant, Ludovic, and his sisters conspire to kill the Beast and attain his riches unaware of what he really possesses.
Cocteau’s direction is truly mesmerizing not just in the images that he creates but also in this strange blend of fantasy and mysticism. The scenes in the Beast’s palace features live arms carrying candelabras and faces on fireplace that moves and breathe smoke as it adds to this element of strange fantasy that Cocteau would create in the film. It is a world that is very appealing in comparison to the more dreary world that Belle was in due to the cruelty she receives from her sisters. Cocteau’s direction includes some compositions that are quite intoxicating to watch with his approach to close-ups to capture some of the anguish in the Beast which displays elements of his humanity and his struggle retain those elements.
The elements of mysticism comes into the film’s third act as it relates to a secret pavilion that is in the Beast’s estate but no one has entered it including himself as he’s only seen what it’s in it from above. It plays into the film’s climax where Cocteau does use some unique camera angles to capture some of the action as well as the drama involving Belle and the Beast. Cocteau’s usage of medium shots to capture some of the planning are quite fascinating as it shows who is exactly calling the shots while there are moments where elements of uncertainty into whether anyone is doing the right thing. Its climax also has elements of romance and fantasy where it plays into what Belle wants and how she wants to help the Beast in proving that he has everything to offer to her. Overall, Cocteau creates an imaginative yet captivating film about a woman who falls for a Beast.
Cinematographer Henri Alekan does amazing work with the film‘s black-and-white photography with its exquisite usage of shadows and lighting schemes along with moods to play into the sense of fantasy and mysticism as it‘s a major highlight of the film. Editor Claude Iberia does brilliant work with the editing with its stylish usage of rewinds, slow-motions, dissolves, and other stylish cuts to play into the sense of magic that occurs throughout the film. Art directors Rene Clement and Lucien Carre do fantastic work with the look of the Beast‘s home as well as hallway and other rooms that are magical. Costume designer Marcel Escoffier does excellent work with the costumes from the clothes that the Beast wears to the lavish gowns that Belle wears during her time with the Beast.
The makeup work of Hagop Arakelian is incredible for not just the look of some of the mysterious things in the Beast‘s home but also in the look of the Beast itself. The sound work of Jacques Lebreton and Jacques Carrere is superb for some of the sound effects that occur including some of the sound that plays into some of the mystical elements of the film. The film’s music by Georges Auric is phenomenal for its orchestral score that is filled with lush and bombastic arrangements that play into the drama as well as a few suspenseful moments as it’s another of the film’s major highlights.
The film’s marvelous cast includes a notable small role from Raoul Marco as an usurer who is making sure Belle’s father pays his debt while Michel Auclair is terrific as Belle’s brother Ludovic who would get his family into more trouble by signing a contract as he is also goaded by Avenant into killing the Beast. Mila Parely and Nane Germon are excellent in their respective roles as Felicie and Adelaide as Belle’s cruel and spoiled sisters who treat her like crap as they make her wash their clothes and such. Marcel Andre is brilliant as Belle’s father as a man whose simple act of doing something for his daughter would get him in trouble as he becomes consumed with guilt over what he put his family through.
Josette Day is amazing as Belle as a woman who takes her father’s place as the Beast’s prisoner as she would convey a sense of patience and grace that makes her truly a woman of great beauty and character. Finally, there’s Jean Marais in an incredible performance as the Beast and as Avenant where he displays an air of smugness into the latter which makes him unappealing while displaying a sense of anguish and pure emotion into the former as it is truly a mesmerizing performance for the actor.
La Belle et la Bete is an astonishingly rich and enchanting film from Jean Cocteau. Armed with a great cast and some amazing technical achievements, the film is truly one of a kind in terms of creating something that is pure fantasy with elements of reality that is engaging to watch. Especially as it’s an interpretation of the fairy tale where it maintains something that is accessible for audiences of all ages but also with something to make it standout from other interpretations. In the end, La Belle et la Bete is an outstanding film from Jean Cocteau.
Jean Cocteau Films: (Blood of a Poet) - (L’Aigle a deux tetes) - (Les Parents terribles) - (Orpheus) - (La Villa Santo-Sospir) - (Testament of Orpheus)
© thevoid99 2015
