Angèle (1934)
Directed by Marcel Pagnol

Film Review

Angèle was the first of Marcel Pagnol's three ambitious film adaptations of novels by Jean Giono (it was followed by Regain (1937) and La Femme du boulanger (1938)).  Like many of Pagnol's films, this one presents a romanticised view of life in Provence, reflecting Pagnol's love for the region perhaps better than the austere reality of the situation. The director's use of real locations and direct sound was a radical departure from the norm at the time, and his work is often cited as the inspiration for neo-realism which rose to prominence in the following decade. The film may well have been a major influence on Jean Renoir when he directed Toni (1935), with the assistance of Luchino Visconto, who would go on to be one of the originators of Italian neo-realism.

In common with much of Pagnol's cinema, Angèle is languorously paced, more concerned with developing character than plot incident, and it is the director's fascination with character that makes his films so intensely involving. Fernandel is at his best in one of his earliest screen roles (Pagnol would make better use of his comedic talents in later films, including Le Schpountz (1938)), and there are some beguiling performances from Jean Servais (best known for his hard-boiled role in Jules Dassin's Du rififi chez les hommes (1955)) and Orane Demazis.

Pagnol was a tremendously astute observer of human nature, and this is reflected as much in his work as a director as in his remarkable writing.  Angèle bears this out in virtually every scene and it is one of the director's most enchanting films.

Film Synopsis

Angèle is the daughter of a respectable farmer, Clarius, and lives with her parents and their valet Saturnin on their farm in the South of France.  Her life is turned up-side-down when she meets an attractive young town man, Louis, who is taking a holiday in the countryside.  Angèle knows nothing of Louis' reputation as a gigolo and allows him to seduce her.  Infatuated with Louis, Angèle secretly leaves her home and follows him to Marseilles.  A year later, the faithful Saturnin travels to the town to try to find Angèle and persuade her to return home.  To his surprise, he finds that Angèle has been rejected by her precious Louis and she has been forced to make a living as a prostitute.  To make matters worse, she has given birth to an illegitimate child.   Saturnin returns to Clarius' farm with Angèle and her baby son, but the old farmer's reaction is predictable.  Appalled at what Angèle has done, Clarius locks her up in a cellar and guards his farm with a rifle to ensure that no-one discovers his daughter's disgrace.  Meanwhile, the one man who loves Angèle, a young farmer named Albin, is determined to find Angèle and ask her to marry him - but he is oblivious her unhappy story...