Film Review
Having successfully adapted one classic work of Russian literature,
Dostoevsky's
The Brothers Karamazov,
Russian born director Fyodor Otsep was well placed to tackle another,
Pushkin's short story
The Queen of
Spades. With a substantial budget at his disposal, Otsep
was able to craft another opulent period piece, one which evokes the
grandeur of Imperial Russia but lacks the drama and emotional power of
his earlier Dostoevsky adaptation. This was the fourth film that
Otsep made during
his stay in France, before his move to America at the outset of WWII,
where he failed to make a name for himself in Hollywood before his
premature death in 1949.
La Dame de pique is as
visually striking as any other film made by Otsep, with elaborate
period sets and costumes that can hardly fail to impress. Armand
Thirard's moody cinematography lends a subtle aura of expectant dread
to the first half of the film, which is handsomely paid off in the
film's dramatic conclusion. It is in the film's final reel that
it finally comes to life, with exaggerated shadows and frenetic editing
used to great effect to express the inner turmoil and descent into
insanity of the main protagonist as he succumbs to the curse of the
woman whose death he caused.
Renowned for playing creepy and comical eccentrics, Marguerite Moreno
is an obvious choice for the part of the ancient Countess Tomski and
her portrayal of the waspish and sinister old woman is arguably the
best thing the film has to offer. Pierre Blanchar is equally
impressive in the latter part of the film (few French actors played
insanity as convincingly as he did) but before this he struggles to
engage our sympathies and looks too similar to the cold-hearted
Raskolnikov he had previously played in Pierre Chenal's
Crime et châtiment
(1935). Far more engaging are Madeleine Ozeray and André
Luguet, who provide the human feeling that is lacking in Blanchar's
zombie-like portrayal.
La Dame
de pique is by no means Otsep's best film but it is an admirable
rendering of Pushkin's famous story, with an ending that really does
chill the blood.
© James Travers 2014
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Film Synopsis
Lieutenant Hermann, an engineer officer in the Imperial Russian army,
is in love with Lisa, the daughter of the wealthy Countess Tomski, but
finds he has a rival in his friend, Captain Iretski. One day,
Tomski's grandson tells Hermann how the countess, nicknamed the Queen
of Spades, once lost a fortune and gained another by betting on three
cards. Determined to discover the secret of the winning three
cards, Hermann steals into the countess's house one evening and
confronts her. Startled by the officer's presence, the old woman
dies suddenly, but as she does so she points to three cards that have
fallen to the ground. At the countess's funeral, Hermann is
taunted by the spirit of the dead woman. In a frenzy, he hastens
to the gambling rooms and bets everything he has on the three cards,
not knowing that the countess has one more surprise in store for him...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.