Rappeneau has directed few films over the past four decades (just seven) but he's created a solid body of work that has meant commercial success even if critics sometimes expressed dismay over the casting of big stars. I wrote about Le Sauvage (1975), expressing my pleasure at the excellent handling of comedy between Deneuve and Montand, and the same is true here. Deneuve is fabulous as the bored wife stuck in the country in wartime--she's dying to get to Paris and won't let her husband forget it. When Henri Garcin as the resistance leader shows up at the château, she's thrilled as well as annoyed at the intrusion into their domestic life.
The film has been made under the sign of tradition: the influence of Feyder's Kermesse heroique is ever-present (the local people trying to outwit the invaders), as well as the aristocratic life satirized by Renoir in Rules of the Game, where the habits of daily life take on great significance (Noiret complains to Deneuve about the apple cores in the basement; she couldn't care less). Now, I await with great anticipation his new film Bon voyage.
The film has been made under the sign of tradition: the influence of Feyder's Kermesse heroique is ever-present (the local people trying to outwit the invaders), as well as the aristocratic life satirized by Renoir in Rules of the Game, where the habits of daily life take on great significance (Noiret complains to Deneuve about the apple cores in the basement; she couldn't care less). Now, I await with great anticipation his new film Bon voyage.