Wonderful film I'd never heard of before by the great French director Julien Duvivier, based on the Emile Zola novel Pot-Bouille, which I'd also never heard of.
A handsome young man comes to 19th Century Paris and begins seducing a broad cross-section of the womenfolk of his new neighborhood while scheming to succeed as a salesman in two rival fabric stores.
The film put me in mind of the great films of Max Ophuls - "Le Plaisir", "La Ronde" and "The Earrings of Madame de..." - and it has the same delight in, and acceptance of, the mysteries of love and romance.
The cast are all faultless, but Gérard Philipe in the lead (never better) and the magnificent Danielle Dumont, as the tightly-buttoned owner of one of said stores, easily outshine them all. They add depth and nuance to a story that could have been broad comedy in lesser hands, simply through glances and body language, their thoughts and feelings flickering across their faces. A treat.
A handsome young man comes to 19th Century Paris and begins seducing a broad cross-section of the womenfolk of his new neighborhood while scheming to succeed as a salesman in two rival fabric stores.
The film put me in mind of the great films of Max Ophuls - "Le Plaisir", "La Ronde" and "The Earrings of Madame de..." - and it has the same delight in, and acceptance of, the mysteries of love and romance.
The cast are all faultless, but Gérard Philipe in the lead (never better) and the magnificent Danielle Dumont, as the tightly-buttoned owner of one of said stores, easily outshine them all. They add depth and nuance to a story that could have been broad comedy in lesser hands, simply through glances and body language, their thoughts and feelings flickering across their faces. A treat.