La Passante du Sans-Souci (1982) - film review

Max Baumstein is the esteemed president of an international human rights organisation, so the world is shocked when he cold bloodedly kills the ambassador to Paraguay.   At his trial, Max reveals that the man he shot was a Nazi war criminal who, whilst serving in the Germany embassy at Paris in the 1930s, authorised the execution and deportation of countless men, women and children.  In 1933, whilst living in Berlin, the ten-year old Max saw his own father shot dead in the street by Nazi police.  A kindly German couple, Elsa and Michel Wiener, took charge of Max’s safety and whilst Michel stayed in Berlin to take a stand against fascism, Elsa and Max fled to Paris.  There, Elsa resumed her career as a cabaret singer, attracting the attention of the very man who would later order the death of her herself and her husband...

In her final film appearance, Romy Schneider gives one of her finest performances – in fact two performances, since she gets to play two quite different characters caught up in a compelling revenge drama.   This was the only film where the actress was able to choose the subject of the film – an adaptation of a novel by Joseph Kessel – and its director.   Whilst making the film, Schneider was in the midst of an emotional crisis, brought on by the recent tragic death of her young son, and she would herself die, from heart failure, barely a month after the film’s release in April 1982.

La Passante du Sans-Souci is a deeply moving film, made all the more poignant by Romy Schneider’s extraordinarily intense and truthful portrayal of a woman who, like herself, bears the scars of an almost unbearable loss.  Jacques Rouffio’s direction is understated but highly effective, conveying the turmoil, anxiety and despair experienced by those who fell foul of Nazi brutality in the 1930s.

Michel Piccoli is an excellent casting choice for the part of the older Max, convincing as the human rights activist who is visibly marked by a troubled past, and there are some impressive contributions from the supporting cast.  However, the film rightly belongs to Romy Schneider, an immensely talented actress who, more than two decades after her death, continues to enjoy the respect and love of cinema audiences across the world, particularly in France.  She is a true screen icon.

© James Travers 2008

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