Le Sauvage (1975)

Le Sauvage is a French film comedy-drama first released in 1975, directed by Jean-Paul Rappeneau.  The film stars Yves Montand, Catherine Deneuve, Luigi Vannucchi, Tony Roberts and Bobo Lewis.  It has also been released under the title: Call Me Savage.  Our overall rating for this film is: good.


At Caracas, Nelly breaks off her engagement to the wealthy Vittorio.  To evade her violent fiancé, she appeals to a stranger, Martin, to help her return to France.  Reluctantly, Martin lends his support but is shocked when Nelly makes an unexpected reappearance on his personal island.  Their initially cool relationship soon becomes stormy, as Nelly rejects Martin’s offers of kindness whilst Martin realises he is in love with her.  Matters become yet more complicated when Nelly’s fiancé suddenly puts in an appearance…

Whilst its threadbare plot is something of a mess, Le Sauvage manages to be an entertaining comedy-drama, with some deliciously over-the-top performances, an exotic location and a memorable score from Michel Legrand.  The film’s sumptuous visual feel and great sense of energy are typical of Jean-Paul Rappeneau’s brand of cinema, so even if the plot content is next to nil, the film has at least the feel of a substantial work.  And there are some moments of great comedy.

Catherine Deneuve and Yves Montand are unlikely co-stars, yet they succeed in playing off each other to great effect – Deneuve, as ever, the cold yet vulnerable ice princess, Montand the somewhat distant yet kind-hearted romantic.  Neither actor is at his or her best in this film but seeing too such icons of French cinema together does generate more than a frisson of excitement.  If only more thought had gone into the script…

© James Travers 2004

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