Sous le signe du taureau (1968) - film review

With the support of his brother-in-law, Jérôme, a celebrated inventor, Albert Raynal, develops a revolutionary new space rocket.  Unfortunately, the rocket explodes on its test flight and Raynal’s financial backers hastily withdraw from the project.  Raynal searches in vain to find someone who is prepared to fund the completion of his work…

This run-of-the-mill drama marks the final chapter in the long-standing relationship between director Gilles Grangier and actor Jean-Gabin.  Beginning  with La Vierge du Rhin in 1953, the two men worked together on a dozen films over a fifteen year period, most of these films being popular successes.  Although Grangier’s film later films – of which this is a fair example – lacked the atmosphere, pace and originality of his earlier works (which were influenced by film noir), they were still very well-received by the French cinema going public.

Sous le signe du taureau is a film that is both unsatisfying and also strangely unsettling. It has the style of a typical 1960s thriller, but also the feel of a documentary. The film is presumably intended to be a social drama and it does indeed make some meaningful comments on the competing interests of commerce and science in an increasingly technologically driven world. However, the whole thing is so leaden and detached, so lacking in human feeling that it fails to have any real impact.

© James Travers 2004

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This film must be seen in the context of the 1960s, when science and technological progress didn’t have the meaning that they have today. The story is sustained only by the art of Jean Gabin and Suzanne Flon. The story is rather simple and doesn’t come close to addressing the problems that were intended to be shown. Just for the performance of Gabin I give it 2 stars.
Wolfgang E. (Karlsruhe / Germany)

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