La Banquière (1980) - film review

Towards the end of the 1920s, Emma Eckhert has become one of the most talked about women in France.  Not only is she stunningly beautiful and a staunch supporter of moral campaigns, she is also a hugely successful banker.  Having made a fortune speculating on the stock exchange, she intends to share her wealth with her investors, offering them a far higher rate of interest than her competitors.  Needless to say, the traditional bankers regard her as a dangerous threat and conspire to bring about her downfall...

Romy Schneider delivers one of her most memorable performances in this lavish period production from director Francis Girod.  The Austrian-born actress who became a star of French cinema in the 1960s was at her peak when she made this film and here she is simply stunning.  The character she plays is a mass of contradictions but somehow Schneider renders the maverick banker Emma believable – formidable, inconsistent yet nearly always sympathetic.

The supporting cast is nearly as impressive, featuring some of the biggest names in French cinema (Claude Brasseur, Jean-Louis Trintingant, Marie-France Pisier, Jean Carmet) – including some fledgling young actors who have yet to make it big (Daniel Auteuil and Thierry Lhermitte).  It is a dream cast that works remarkably well, Trintingant’s soliloquising rival banker being particularly memorable.

Even by French standards, the production values of this film are impressive. With great attention to period detail, the film offers a convincing portrait of the 1920s, capturing the mood and ethics of the period very well.

Whilst this is an exceptionally well made film, it is not without its faults.  The constant switching between colour and black-and-white is at first amusing but soon becomes irritating.  Its only justification seems to be to allow the inclusion of Pathé newsreel footage (most of which is totally unnecessary).  Also some of the quirky comic touches in the first part of the film seem excessive.  Perhaps the film’s biggest deficiency is that it just looks too glossy, too lavish.  You feel that more attention could have been paid to developing characterisation more fully.   In spite of this, La Banquière manages to be both an entertaining and reasonably satisfying piece of cinema.

© James Travers 2002

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I enjoyed this movie, but agreed with the original review which complained that in places it was a bit too irritatingly flashy and slightly bizarre. The standard of acting was consistently tremendous though and the title role wonderfully played by Romy Schneider.  The scene-setting and attention to details were great and very well observed and satisfying.  I must admit it was so convincing that I wasn’t too sure whether it was based on any kind of true story or merely a scenario based on French society of the time.  After some limited research I now have a better idea!  I would recommend this movie to anyone.
Bruce Adams (Scotland) 

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