A world-renowned pianist suffers from a neurosis called "narcissism."A world-renowned pianist suffers from a neurosis called "narcissism."A world-renowned pianist suffers from a neurosis called "narcissism."
Photos
René Berthier
- Petit rôle
- (uncredited)
Gérard Buhr
- Le garçon de café
- (uncredited)
Gérard Gervais
- Petit rôle
- (uncredited)
Paul Villé
- Le patron du restaurant
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- ConnectionsReferenced in Mémoires pour Simone (1986)
Featured review
Crack in the mirror
Perhaps Simone Signoret's worst part,this movie seemed to indicate the decline of an estimable director who made largely overlooked efforts ;Henri Calef actually directed movies that deserve to be watched :"Les Chouans" (from Balzac) ,"La Maison Sous La Mer" even "La Passante " .His finest films are a war movie "Jericho" ,which depicted bravery and cowardice as few post-war movie did,and "les Eaux Troubles" .
"Ombre Et Lumière" looks like an unintentional spoof on "psychoanalytical" melodramas /thrillers of the American forties ,when Hitchcock ,Lang,Jack Tourneur or Siodmak made masterpieces in this field (notably "spellbound" "secret beyond the door" "cat people" " the spiral staircase").Simone Signoret portrays a world-wide known piano player whose favorite composition is Tchaikovski Piano Concerto part one which was also her downfall:during her twenty-fourth (or is it twenty-third ?) concert,she began to go nuts ,much to the musicians' dismay.Her father had lost his marbles before he died they say.
A shrink explains to her she suffers from a neurosis called "narcissism" : she sees "reflections " on her piano (and occasionally on mirrors she relegates to the attic) ,and the face which appears is none other than the other " me" ,probably her inflated ego. Compared to those of the four directors I mention above,Signoret's fears are laughable,and the way Calef films them is downright embarrassing.
Perhaps this unfortunate artist ,"cured" by a nice shrink (Pierre Dux) ,would never have had a relapse.But alas,she falls in love with the owner of a sawmill ,and this handsome man is none other than her sister's former lover.Maria Casarès plays the part of the sibling;and she plays a part we know too well;it's the same she once played in former greater glories :Marcel Carné's "Les Enfants Du Paradis" and Robert Bresson's "Les Dames Du Bois De Boulogne";the jealous woman seeking revenge .
"Ombre Et Lumière" ,released in 1951,was already quaint ...Signoret turned around from that disaster and shone in "Casque D'Or " the following year.
"Ombre Et Lumière" looks like an unintentional spoof on "psychoanalytical" melodramas /thrillers of the American forties ,when Hitchcock ,Lang,Jack Tourneur or Siodmak made masterpieces in this field (notably "spellbound" "secret beyond the door" "cat people" " the spiral staircase").Simone Signoret portrays a world-wide known piano player whose favorite composition is Tchaikovski Piano Concerto part one which was also her downfall:during her twenty-fourth (or is it twenty-third ?) concert,she began to go nuts ,much to the musicians' dismay.Her father had lost his marbles before he died they say.
A shrink explains to her she suffers from a neurosis called "narcissism" : she sees "reflections " on her piano (and occasionally on mirrors she relegates to the attic) ,and the face which appears is none other than the other " me" ,probably her inflated ego. Compared to those of the four directors I mention above,Signoret's fears are laughable,and the way Calef films them is downright embarrassing.
Perhaps this unfortunate artist ,"cured" by a nice shrink (Pierre Dux) ,would never have had a relapse.But alas,she falls in love with the owner of a sawmill ,and this handsome man is none other than her sister's former lover.Maria Casarès plays the part of the sibling;and she plays a part we know too well;it's the same she once played in former greater glories :Marcel Carné's "Les Enfants Du Paradis" and Robert Bresson's "Les Dames Du Bois De Boulogne";the jealous woman seeking revenge .
"Ombre Et Lumière" ,released in 1951,was already quaint ...Signoret turned around from that disaster and shone in "Casque D'Or " the following year.
- dbdumonteil
- Oct 17, 2009
- Permalink
Details
- Runtime1 hour 32 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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