Film Review
Considering that it was made during a bleak and distressing period for
France,
Le Ciel est à vous
is an astonishingly uplifting film with a message of unfettered hope
for the future. It is not difficult to read director Jean
Grémillon's allegorical call to arms behind the rather anodyne
tale about a Lindbergh-esque exploit, based on the real-life story of
Andrée Dupeyron, the wife of a garage owner in
Mont-de-Marsan. Released in February 1944, a few months before
the Liberation, the film was enormously popular in France, galvanising
the efforts of the Resistance and their covert supporters with its
inspiring subtext. Although Jean Grémillon would go on to
make three more notable films,
Le
Ciel est à vous was his last commercial success, the
highpoint of his career before a rapid decline into obscurity.
Le Ciel est à vous is
significant for two reasons. Firstly, it is a rare example of a
French social drama, using a strikingly neo-realist approach, with real
locations and down-to-Earth characters to convincingly depict a French
community in the mid-1940s. This makes a stark contrast with the
contrived studio-bound melodramas which were far more prevalent at the
time. More significant is its distinctly feminist slant, which is
unusual, if not unprecedented, for a film of this era. As in many
of Grémillon's previous films, it is a woman who is the prime
mover in the story whilst the main male character plays a lesser, more
subservient role.
This portrayal of women is in direct opposition to the opinion of the
Vichy government, which insisted that the woman's place was in the home,
looking after the husband and children. In this film, the woman,
Thérèse Gauthier (magnificently portrayed by Madeleine
Renaud), is a free spirit who dominates her husband and neglects her
children in order to pursue her own dream. Whilst this is perhaps
not the most positive portrayal of female independence, it effectively
makes the point that women have a right to be accorded equal status
with men and, like their male counterparts, should be allowed to pursue
their ambitions rather than feel obliged to tie themselves to the
kitchen sink. It's a provocative statement when you consider
that, in France, women were not eligible to vote until July 1944, some
months after the film was released.
© James Travers 2009
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Next Jean Grémillon film:
Pattes blanches (1949)
Film Synopsis
Pierre Gauthier is proud of the fact that, during WWI, he was employed as
a mechanic to the celebrated aviator Georges Guynemer. Since then,
he has kept up his interest in flying, but now he finds he has to give this
up after the area where he lives is bought up for conversion into a large
airfield. With his wife Thérèse, their two children and
his aged mother-in-law, Pierre settles in a nearby town and devotes himself
to his new job as a garage mechanic. It isn't long before he gets bored
with his new life, so, encouraged by his friend Dr Maulette, he makes up
his mind to join a local aviation club. Naturally Thérèse
is far from pleased at her husband's new hobby, particularly as it seems
to be developing into an obsession, causing him to neglect both his work
and his family.
Pierre overcomes his wife's objections and even talks her into accompanying
him on his airborne exploits. Within no time, Thérèse
is as addicted to flying as her husband is, and she continues flying solo
after he drops out because of a broken arm. Pierre is both surprised and
impressed by his wife's enthusiasm and aptitude for flying. He offers
her all the support she needs when she sets her mind to breaking a long distance
flying record. Unfortunately, Thérèse's aeroplane is
not equipped with a radio, so it isn't long after she sets out on this great
adventure that Pierre becomes anxious for her safety. As he waits for
news of his wife, harangued by his unforgiving mother-in-law, he prays and
hopes that she will arrive safely. The waiting is more than he can
bear...
© James Travers
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