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Le Sauvage
1975 Comedy / Drama
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Credits
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Director: Jean-Paul Rappeneau
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Script: Jean-Loup Dabadie, Élisabeth Rappeneau, Jean-Paul Rappeneau
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Photo: Pierre Lhomme, Antoine Roch
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Music: Michel Legrand
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Cast: Yves Montand (Martin),
Catherine Deneuve (Nelly),
Luigi Vannucchi (Vittori),
Tony Roberts (Alex Fox),
Bobo Lewis (Miss Mark),
Dana Wynter (Jessie Coutances),
Vernon Dobtcheff (Coleman),
Luis Gerardo Tovar (Ribeiro),
Gustavo Blanco (Granada),
Jean Guidoni (Musicien à la noce de Vittorio),
Jean-Michel Lacor (Le Concierge)
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Country: France
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Language: French
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Runtime: 103 min
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Aka: Call Me Savage; Lovers Like Us; The Savage
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Summary
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…
Review
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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