Film Review
It is not without reason that Anna Magnani is known as the "she-wolf"
of Italian cinema. Anyone who has seen her lay into Anthony Quinn
in
The Secret of Santa Vittoria
(1969), which she does with the contained fury of an army of half-starved
velociraptors descending on a helpless sheep, will know that she was a
force of nature, only marginally less terrifying than Mount Etna when
in full volcanic spectacle. So, when Magnani is cast in
opposition to Pierre Brasseur, an actor who is not exactly known for
playing the sweet-natured poodle, we can expect plenty of fireworks, if
not a gory fight to the death between two of cinema's most formidable
titans. In this respect at least,
Le Magot de Josefa lives up to our
expectations. The scenes in which Magnani and Brasseur spit blood
and rip big chunks out of each other are the main saving grace of this
otherwise forgettable comedy from director Claude Autant-Lara.
Not long after Magnani was improbably cast alongside Marlon Brando in
The Fugitive Kind (1960), she
ended up playing a virtually identical role opposite the popular French
comic actor Bourvil in this midde-of-the-road comedy. Here,
Magnani saves her tempestuous passions for Brasseur, who is revealed to
be an old flame who has turned distinctly bitter, so Bourvil gets off
comparatively lightly. A diva of Italian neo-realism, Magnani
still acts as if her life depended on it but here her intensely
emotional performance comes across as somewhat overwrought, and some of
her scenes in the film would be better suited for a gritty Italian
drama than a light-hearted French comedy. That said, her scenes
with Bourvil are a delight to watch, and despite their very differing
styles and backgrounds, the two actors have a genuine and close
rapport.
"I like your voice", Magnani gently confides in Bourvil when she
listens to a recording of one of his songs (
Un air de jeunesse). This
makes a pleasing contrast with the fiery Magnani-Brasseur set-tos,
which threaten to turn into a raging conflagration of epic
proportions. (The sets were presumably reinforced with thick
steel girders to prevent them from collapsing whenever Magnani and
Brasseur went to war.)
Le
Magot de Josefa is neither a great film nor a great comedy, and
it pales into insignificance compared with Bourvil's previous
collaboration with Autant-Lara,
La Traversée de Paris.
However, the opportunity to see three such diverse
monstres sacrés sparring
off one another, and doing so with what can only be described as
unfettered relish, makes it well worth watching.
© James Travers, Willems Henri 2014
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Next Claude Autant-Lara film:
Le Journal d'une femme en blanc (1965)
Film Synopsis
Musician Pierre Corneille and songwriter Justin Truculia are delighted
when they receive their first paycheque for a song they have written
together. Opening a bank account with the pittance they have
earned, they hit on a plan that will bring them far more money.
Justin writes out a cheque to Pierre for three million francs.
When the bank refuses to pay out this sum, Pierre calls on Josefa,
Justin's wealthy mother, warning her that unless she pays up, her son
will be sent to prison. The plan backfires when it turns out that
Josefa is not as rich as she is supposed to be...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.