Lumière d’été (1943)

Lumière d’été is a French romantic film drama first released in 1943, directed by Jean Grémillon.  The film stars Madeleine Renaud, Pierre Brasseur, Madeleine Robinson, Paul Bernard and Georges Marchal.  Our overall rating for this film is: very good.


At a mountain resort in Haute-Provence, a naive young woman Michèle soon comes tired of the decadence and low moral standards of her fiancé, a drunken artist Roland, and his entourage.   She is drawn to a young engineer, Julien, whose diligence and ideals appear to offer her a far better life...

Whilst not necessarily the best film of its time, Lumière d’été   is certainly one of the most important films made in France during World War II.  It allowed its director, Jean Grémillion, to get away with his most vehement assault on the Haute-Bourgeoisie (as Jean Renoir had attempted to do with his 1939 film La Règle du jeu ), whilst extolling the nobility of the ordinary hard-working man in the street.

The film also makes a veiled attack on the Vichy régime, which explains both why the film was banned by the authorities and why it proved to be so popular with the French people.  Beautifully filmed and scripted, the film is surely one of Grémillon’s most memorable films.

© James Travers 2002


This is a fine movie shot during the Occupation that was not produced by Continental, and as such it provides an idea of what else was available during those years.  The credits are impeccable, with director Jean Grémillon working yet again with his favourite actress Madeleine Renaud, but this is not to overlook the other Madeleine, i.e. Madeleine Robinson, who enjoyed a fairly high profile in the forties but has been unjustly neglected in later years.  The screenplay was by the maestro Jacques Prévert who took a brief sabbatical away from Marcel Carné (in between Les Visiteurs du soir and Les Enfants paradis) to pen this gem which also featured Pierre Brasseur, who didn’t often get to play the leading man.  Throw in Jane Marken and Charles Blavette and you’re looking at a heady wine indeed.

© Leon Nock (London, England) 2010 

Write a review for this film...


What do you think of this film?

More French Drama
More French Romance
Recent DVD releases