La Marseillaise (1938)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Jean Renoir

Writers:

Jean Renoir (scenario)
Carl Koch (collaboration) ...

Release Date:

17 April 1938 (Finland)

Genre:

History

Plot:

A news-reel like movie about early part of the Frensh Revolution, shown from the eyes of individual people...

Plot Keywords:

La Marseillaise | French Revolution | France

Cast

Pierre Renoir	...	Le Roi de France Louis XVI
Lise Delamare	...	La Reine Marie-Antoinette (as Lise Delamare de la Comédie Française)
Léon Larive	...	Picard, le valet du roi
William Aguet	...	La Rochefoucauld
Elisa Ruis	...	La princesse de Lamballe
Germaine Lefébure	...	Madame Élisabeth, soeur du roi (as G. Lefebure)
Louis Jouvet	...	Roederer
Georges Spanelly	...	La Chesnaye (as Spanelly)
Jaque Catelain	...	Le capitaine Langlade
Pierre Nay	...	Dubouchage
Edmond Castel	...	Leroux (as Castel)
Aimé Clariond	...	Monsieur de Saint Laurent (as Aimé Clariond de la Comédie Française)
André Zibral	...	Monsieur de Saint Merri (as Zibral)
Jean Aymé	...	Monsieur de Fauguerolles (as Jean Ayme)
Irène Joachim	...	Madame de Saint Laurent

Also Known As:

La Marseillaise (USA)
La Marseillaise - Chronique de quelques faits ayant contribué à la chute de la monarchie (France) (long title)
The Marseillaise (UK)

Runtime:

135 min | USA:130 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:K-16

Filming Locations:

Alsace, France

Company:

Compagnie Jean Renoir

Trivia:

Shot at the time of the Popular Front, the credits actually mentions the fact that all members of the technical cast belongs to the French left-wing trade union 'Confédération Générale du Travail' (CGT).

Movie Connections:

Featured in Jean Renoir: Part One - From La Belle Époque to World War II (1993) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Musique ancienne

The Country is in Danger!

This film, despite being directed by Renoir, is largely forgotten today. This is a pity, as there are few films actually about the French Revolution (though it is used as a backdrop for a variety of plot lines), and none that really deal with the birth of the Republic.

It was made at the tail end of the 'Popular Front' government, a coalition of parties (including the communists) formed to protect the Third Republic from right-wing domestic subversion and the baleful influence of the Nazis.

It chose to use the early years of the revolution as a metaphor for this political situation - France was still a (constitutional) monarchy, and the King possessed the power of a constitutional veto. The Queen and her circle were said to be plotting a counter revolution.

Within this context, each city and region of France is requested to send a Battalion to Paris, to defend the government against its domestic enemies. We follow the adventures of some of the ordinary men in the battalion from Marseilles (who sing a new song called the "Marseilles" as they march. We see their experiences in Paris (including a love interest), and their simple and honest defence of what they believe in. Finally, they participate in the coup that leads to the establishment of the Republic and the arrest of the King.

The film is episodic, and some of the scenes are a little melodramatic. But the characterisation is excellent. The King and his court are not one-dimensional villains. The scene of his departure is quite moving.

In short, a film well worth rescuing from obscurity.