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A middle-aged man
Aimable and his young wife Aurélie decide to settle in a Provençal village,
running the local baker’s shop. A short while later Aurélie runs of with a
young shepherd, leaving her husband broken hearted. Aimable refuses to make
any more bread and the villagers are forced to separate Aurélie from her
new lover and return her to her husband…
La Femme du
boulanger is widely considered to be Marcel Pagnol’s best film, not
least because of the unforgettable acting performances from Raimu and
Ginette Leclerc. Based on a novel by Jean Gino, the film is ideal material
for Pagnol’s romantic vision of Provence, with its tightly-knit little
communities living in the remote unspoiled countryside.
Although resorting
to caricature in a few places (indeed most of the film's characters are
obvious caricatures), this does not undermine the film's dramatic thrust.
Only a writer of Pagnol's undoubted talents could manage this without
ending up with a weak farce.
Raimu, one of the
finest French actors of the 1930s, gives one of his most moving
performances in this film. Alternately the comic buffoon and the tragic
victim, he gives the film its emotional imperative.
One of the most
popular French films ever to be released in the United States, this is a
film that plays perfectly to the emotions without ever appearing
sentimentalised or contrived.
marcel-pagnol.com
Review
at frenchfilms.topcities.com
Review
at wanadoo.fr
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