Nearing the end to my current run of French films from 1948,I started choosing the final titles. Looking for info on Les parents terribles, I was surprised to learn that auteur Jean Cocteau had actually made two movies in '48,which led to me looking up to see the eagle fly.
View on the film:
Arriving as the next film after writer/director Jean Cocteau's 1946 Beauty and the Beast, Cocteau lavishly crosses the fantasy of Beauty with the stark surrealism of his 1932's The Blood of a Poet,as Natasha's castle contains human statues along the corridors,and the regal objects are caked in a dour Gothic shade. Working with La Grande Illusion cinematographer Christian Matras,Cocteau and Matras bring pristine surrealism to Natasha & Stanislas's reflected in mirrors romance,with ahead of their time jump-cuts,and shimmering forced perspective.
Adapting from his 1946/47 stage production,Cocteau intriguingly returns to the major themes of Beauty with a much darker beat, struck by the (blood of a) poet Stanislas being sent to assassinate the frozen in her castle (and in time) Natasha. Opening the play to a cinematic vision in grandiose royal surroundings , Cocteau neatly contrasts the visuals by keeping the dialogue close and intimate, highlighted in an outstanding 20 minute Natasha,that holds a mirror to Natasha's loss of personal and political power,and also reflects "the new" Stanislas's inability to forge a new identity,and not be masked with that of Natasha's dad.
Reuniting with Cocteau in a castle, Jean Marais gives an excellent performance as Stanislas, whose murderous eyes for Natasha are softened by Marais giving Stanislas a passion for Natasha,and a passion not to repeat the past misdeeds of the king. Lighting the darkest corners of the castle, Edwige Feuillère gives a radiant performance as Natasha, with Feuillère carrying Natasha with an awareness that the wealth and power the family castle has been built on,is flying away with the eagle with two heads.
View on the film:
Arriving as the next film after writer/director Jean Cocteau's 1946 Beauty and the Beast, Cocteau lavishly crosses the fantasy of Beauty with the stark surrealism of his 1932's The Blood of a Poet,as Natasha's castle contains human statues along the corridors,and the regal objects are caked in a dour Gothic shade. Working with La Grande Illusion cinematographer Christian Matras,Cocteau and Matras bring pristine surrealism to Natasha & Stanislas's reflected in mirrors romance,with ahead of their time jump-cuts,and shimmering forced perspective.
Adapting from his 1946/47 stage production,Cocteau intriguingly returns to the major themes of Beauty with a much darker beat, struck by the (blood of a) poet Stanislas being sent to assassinate the frozen in her castle (and in time) Natasha. Opening the play to a cinematic vision in grandiose royal surroundings , Cocteau neatly contrasts the visuals by keeping the dialogue close and intimate, highlighted in an outstanding 20 minute Natasha,that holds a mirror to Natasha's loss of personal and political power,and also reflects "the new" Stanislas's inability to forge a new identity,and not be masked with that of Natasha's dad.
Reuniting with Cocteau in a castle, Jean Marais gives an excellent performance as Stanislas, whose murderous eyes for Natasha are softened by Marais giving Stanislas a passion for Natasha,and a passion not to repeat the past misdeeds of the king. Lighting the darkest corners of the castle, Edwige Feuillère gives a radiant performance as Natasha, with Feuillère carrying Natasha with an awareness that the wealth and power the family castle has been built on,is flying away with the eagle with two heads.