Summary
Paris, 1887. Douce, a young woman of 17 years, lives with her invalid father, Engelbert
de Bonafé, and her domineering grandmother, la comtesse de Bonafé.
She is in love with her father’s steward, Fabien, and plans to elope with him.
However, Fabien loves Douce’s private tutor and companion, Irène. It
was through him that Irène found her current position and he expects her to repay
him by starting a new life with him in North America. Irène has higher aspirations,
however, and when Engelbert de Bonafé reveals his intentions to marry her, she
rejects Fabien. Realising her moment has come, Douce reveals her love to Fabien
and tells him she is prepared to give up everything for him. The two lovers plan to set
sail for a new life together, but their happiness proves to be short-lived…
Review
It was under the Occupation that director Claude Autant-Lara proved his mettle and established
himself as one of the finest directors of his generation. His best film, Douce,
is a magnificent blend of romance, satire and dramatic irony, beautifully filmed, with
some enchanting acting performances. Although the film is set in the late 19th century,
its story of forbidden love between servants and masters from two totally different social
strata was relevant to 1940s France, a country that was as divided by class as it was
by the war.
The character Douce is played with great force and subtlety by Odette Joyeux, undoubtedly
her best screen performance. Her portrayal of the love-sick adolescent who who makes
a doomed attempt to cross the barriers of class and respectability is totally captivating,
giving the film the tragic dimension that makes it a masterpiece.
Another noteworthy performance comes from Marguerite Moreno, who play’s Douce’s
imperious grandmother. Well into her seventies, Moreno had become the archetypal
eccentric ageing tyrant and this film sees one of her most spirited and charismatic performances.
Her character epitomises everything that is wrong with the bourgeois elite – patronising,
dictatorial, insensitive. The casting of Moreno is a stroke of genius because the
strength of her character’s position and her inability to change her viewpoint reinforces
the nobility of her son and grand-daughter, who opt for love before protocol.
Moreno’s la comtesse de Bonafé is a grotesque caricature but it provides
an entertaining and accurate satire of the French bourgeoisie.
© James Travers 2001
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