Regain (1937) - film review

One by one, the inhabitants of a provincial French village depart, until only the poacher Panturle remains.  He dreams of finding a wife and bringing the village back to life.  One day, the village is visited by a travelling knife-grinder, Gédémus, and a young woman, Arsule, whom he treats as a slave.  Is Panturle’s dream about to become reality?

This is one of several films in which distinguished writer-director Marcel Pagnol shares with his cinema audience his undying passion for the provincial France of his youth.  In a story that is a million miles from contemporary reality, he paints a picturesque, unashamedly romanticised, almost naïve, view of country life.

In addition to being one of Pagnol’s most ambitious films, it is also distinguished as being the film in which the legendary comic actor Fernandel gave what many critics regard as his finest film performance, as the feckless knife-grinder Gédémus.

In 1969, the film was re-released in a cleaned up, re-edited version, 30 minutes shorter than the original 150 minute long film.

© James Travers 2001

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