Film Review
Alex Joffé may not have been the most prolific or well-regarded
of French filmmakers, but his work shows a remarkable diversity and is
distinguished as much by its unpretentious charms as its occasional
burst of innovation. His first film of real interest,
Les
Fanatiques (1957), is a slick suspense thriller that has the
unusual feature of taking place in real time whilst anticipating the
disaster movie that would become popular in a later decade.
Immediately before this, Joffé made another interesting film
with a suspense component (possibly inspired by Hitchcock's earlier
films),
Les Assassins du dimanche,
although this is more a morality play than a conventional
thriller. It is not hard to see why the film was endorsed by the
Catholic Church. It is one that intelligently explores the issue
of individual and collective responsibility, and the film can easily be
interpreted as a subtle commentary on the Occupation and France's not
insignificant part in Hitler's Final Solution. It's worth noting
that Joffé would reference the Occupation directly in a later
film,
Fortunat (1960).
The excruciating guilt of a man realising that three innocent people
may die through his actions is palpably rendered by Jean-Marc Thibault
in an early leading role in his long and busy career. Today,
Thibault is far better known as a comic actor, through his partnership
with Roger Pierre, but here he impresses with a solid dramatic
performance that blazes with authenticity. Playing Thibault's garage
apprentice is a young Georges Poujouly, now shaping up to be a fine
actor after his memorable debut in René Clément's
Jeux
interdits (1952). Paul Frankeur spent a large part of
his career playing villains of various shades of nastiness, so it is
natural he should play Thibault's morally inferior brother, whose "wait
and see" philosophy very much reflects the attentiste attitude of the
majority of the French population during the Occupation. Michel
André is a welcome addition to the cast - he plays the
enterprising priest who saves the day, in a plot development that is
surprising but pretty banal compared with the actor's wartime
experiences, recounted in the film
Les Evadés (1955), which
he wrote and starred in.
The film makes the most of its suspense element (every shot of a vital
nut slipping further down the steering wheel rod anticipates imminent
disaster) but whilst this is important in driving the narrative and the
main character's crisis of conscience there is more to the film than
such cheap Hitchcockian thrills.
Les Assassins du dimanche is more
interesting as a richly drawn portrait of a French rural community
coming together and acting in unison to avoid the tragic outcome which
one man alone is powerless to prevent. It is surely no
coincidence that the people who are in peril in the film are Germans,
sympathetically portrayed but behaving in a reckless fashion that
increases the likelihood of a tragic outcome. There are some
obvious socialist and political subtexts to the film (France needs to
work with Germany and act as a united nation to safeguard the future),
but more crucially it is about an individual taking
responsibility for his actions and acting accordingly, no matter what the
personal cost. Because this theme still has currency, the film is
probably the one directed by Joffé that continues to have the
greatest resonance. As is typical of the director's work,
Les Assassins du dimanche does not
labour the point but makes it effectively enough as part of an engaging
piece of entertainment.
© James Travers 2015
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Film Synopsis
Robert Simonet is a provincial garage owner whose ambition is to be as
successful as his former boss. He is also a formidable amateur
cyclist and is the favourite to win the cycling race to take place in
his town. On the eve of the tournament, he is given a wad
of cash to repair a car for a customer who is obviously in a
hurry. By taking on this job, Robert forgets to complete the work
on a Mercedes belonging to a German couple. The next morning,
Robert is called to tow away the first car after it has been involved
in a head-on collision with another vehicle. In his absence, the
Germans collect their car and drive off for a tourist spree with
Ginette, the daughter of Robert's ex-boss. When he realises this,
Robert is caught in a terrible personal dilemma. If he goes to
the police to warn them that, through his negligence, three people may
die in a car accident, he may lose his reputation and his
livelihood. His brother persuades him it is too late to act - the
German couple are probably already dead. In the end, prompted by
his infant son Toto, Robert has no choice but to accept responsibility
for his mistake and inform the police. To his horror they seem
unwilling to take the matter seriously. It is the local priest who
comes up with a better solution...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.