Film Review
It is perhaps a little surprising that Marcel Pagnol made his
directorial debut by adapting not one of his own plays but instead the
work of two other authors, Emile Augier and Jean Giono.
Immediately after his screen version of Augier's stage play
Le Gendre de Monsieur
Poirier, Pagnol adapted a short story by Jean Giono, entitled
Jofroi de la Maussan.
Before he became a director, Pagnol had assisted on the screen version of two of his
most successful plays,
Marius (1931) and
Fanny
(1932), in the capacity of a screenwriter, and on both occasions he was
dissatisfied with the result. Pagnol quickly realised that he was
the best person to adapt his stage plays for the cinema and the
popularity of
Jofroi gave him the confidence to do just
that. He also had an affinity with Giono's work and would adapt
several of his novels, including
Angèle (1934) and
La Femme du boulanger (1938).
Jofroi is the first of Pagnol's films
to have the contemporary Provençal setting that is such an essential
part of the director's oeuvre. It is also one of Pagnol's most
humorous films, confidently directed and featuring a star turn from Vincent
Scotto, a popular musician in his first film appearance. In the
course of a long and prolific career Scotto composed around four
thousand songs and more than fifty operettas. He also found time
to score over a hundred films, including several by Marcel Pagnol, who
became a close friend. Although he was only 56 when he took on
the role of Jofroi, Scotto is totally convincing as the septuagenarian
peasant farmer and is poignant and hilarious in equal measure.
The cast includes several actors who would become part of the
director's regular troupe - Henri Poupon, Charles Blavette and
Édouard Delmont - all perfectly at home in Pagnol country.
Short and snappy yet mercilessly true to life,
Jofroi is probably the best
introduction to the work of this remarkable filmmaker.
© James Travers 2013
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Next Marcel Pagnol film:
Cigalon (1935)
Film Synopsis
Jofroi, an ageing peasant, sells his orchard to one of his neighbours,
Fonse. When the trees fail to produce any fruit, Fonse decides he will
cut them down. Jofroi is incensed when he hears about this: how
can a man even think of murdering trees! First Jofroi threatens
Fonse, then he makes up his mind to kill himself, much to the distress
of his wife. Several suicide attempts later, the mayor and a
priest manage to persuade Fonse not to rip up the offending
trees. Even when Jofroi dies, of natural causes, Fonse decides to
keep some of the trees, in memory of the man for whom they meant so
much.
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.