Film Review
Towards the end of his filmmaking career, Jean Gourguet was rapidly
overtaken by the French New Wave and his films, modest auteur pieces,
tended to fade from view as younger, more dynamic filmmakers stole the
limelight.
La P... sentimentale
was released just as the Nouvelle Vague was revving up and it is
surprising how much it has in common with the early films of Truffaut,
Rivette and Rohmer. Gourguet's preference for filming in real
locations and using inexperienced actors rather than established stars,
to say nothing of his overriding interest in the problems of young
people... these are aspects readily found in the films of the French
New Wave directors. Had it not been for Truffaut's
Les Quatre cents coups (1959),
Gourguet might conceivably have had a more discernible impact on French cinema.
Where Gourguet differs from the new kids on the block is that he could
never dissociate himself from the melodramatic form. All of his
films, to a greater or lesser extent, are melodramas, often with
contrived plots and clichéd situations.
La P... sentimentale is especially
deficient in this respect, which could explain why it is held in less
regard than the director's previous studies of youth,
Maternité clandestine
(1953) and
Les Premiers outrages (1955).
Whereas Maurice Sarfati was engaging as the wayward adolescent in the
these earlier two films, as the central character in
La P... sentimentale he finds it
harder to steal our sympathies - his performance is more polished, but
the spontaneity and the freshness are missing. It's ironic that
one of Gourguet's slickest films should be among his least
satisfying. Technically, the film is hard to fault, the
performances are generally up to scratch (it's nice to see that Pierre
Larquey and Andrex are still on fine form in the twilight of their
careers), but the poetry and gentle humanity of Gourguet's earlier films are fast fading
from sight.
© James Travers 2015
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Film Synopsis
Paty, a college boy, has fallen in love with Linda. The only
problem is that she is a prostitute and Paty's father is outraged when
he learns that his son is involved with a member of her
profession. Linda's pimp sees an opportunity to extort money from
Paty's family...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.