Boule de suif (1945)
Directed by Christian-Jaque

Film Review

Based on two of Guy de Maupassant's short stories, Boule de suif was one of the first films to be made in France after the Liberation in 1944.  Freed from the yoke of German censorship, director Christian-Jaque made full use of the opportunity to ridicule the German oppressor, to condemn the hypocrisy of the complacent bourgeoisie and to honour the spirit of resistance epitomised by the film's central character, Boule de suif.

Although the film veers to histrionic excess in one or two places, it nonetheless makes some powerful statements about human frailty which the cinema-going public at the time would probably have responded to very favourably.  The film is really nothing less than a celebration of the French resistance and an unfettered attempt to ridicule and demonise their former Nazi overlords.

The slick melange of farce and melodrama which runs throughout the film is entertaining but also unsettling - you never quite know which way the film is going to end until the very last shot (a beautiful scene which brilliantly evokes the mood of the French Nation after the Liberation).

Christian-Jaque builds on the caustic humour which is present in Guy de Maupassant's work and manages to construct some hilarious comic situations.  His portrayal of the Prussian officers is pure caricature but brilliantly realised, thanks to the amusing dialogue and some larger than life performances from the cast (particularly Louis Salou).  The film's darker moments offer a grim reminder of what the French suffered in the previous years.  In a way, it was daring for Christian-Jaque to make a film about one period of occupation (the Prussian Occupation of the 1870s) whilst memories of the Nazi occupation were so fresh in people's minds.

The main character of Boule de suif is played by Micheline Presle, an actress of virtually unrivalled talent and beauty who had a remarkable film career spanning more than six decades.  Her casting as the film's heroine was hardly accidental - Presle was one of the few leading French screen actresses of the time who had not disgraced herself either by flying off to Hollywood at the start of the war or showing favour to the Germans during the Occupation. She was better suited to represent the spirit of a defiant France than, say, Michèle Morgan or Danielle Darrieux. Presle's sensual charm also made her a natural choice for lead the role which, along with her appearances in Marcel L'Herbier's La Nuit fantastique (1942) and Jacques Beckers's Falbalas (1945), helped to establish her as one of the most iconic French actresses of the decade.

Film Synopsis

Normandy, 1870.  With Rouen occupied by the Prussian army, a prostitute named Élisabeth Rousset decides to leave the town in a stage coach bound for Le Havre.  Her plan is then to leave France and start a new life in another country.  Élisabeth, who refers to herself as Boule de suif, shares the coach with a strange mix of people of bourgeois and noble background.  Naturally, they look down on her because she is a common courtesan.  At a stage stop a Prussian officer forbids the coach from continuing unless Élisabeth consents to spend the night with him.  Not wishing to inconvenience her fellow travellers, the prostitute agrees to the officer's request.  The stage coach then continues on its way, but is halted a short while later by a Prussian patrol.  The women are taken away to a nearby chateau for the amusement of several Prussian officers.  One of these is the sadistic Lieutenant Eyrick, who takes a particular interest in Boule de suif...