Film Review
It was with his first solo film as a director,
Nous les gosses (1941), that
Louis Daquin showed a flair for slice-of-life realism, something that
was comparatively rare in French cinema at the time. Daquin
brings a similar
sur le vif
or near-documentary approach to his adaptation of Roger Frison-Roche's
novel
Premier de cordée,
a film that pays homage to the courage of mountain guides. As
Daquin was active in the French resistance at the time he was making
this film it is easy to read a pro-resistance subtext into the film, if
you equate the heroic exploits of mountaineers with those of resistance
members.
Premier de cordée
suffers from a weak narrative and a distinct lack of character depth
but it is massively redeemed by its jaw-dropping photography. Most
of the film was shot on location, and a fair chunk of this on the
precarious heights of Mont Blanc - something that presented enormous
challenges for the cast and crew. Roger Pigaut, the actor who was
originally cast in the lead role, sustained a serious injury after
falling down a crevasse and was replaced by André Le Gall.
Several other members of Daquin's team suffered similar injuries.
The film's more spectacular sequences, breathtaking to watch, were
filmed with the help of Georges Tairraz, an experienced mountaineer.
After a sluggish beginning,
Premier
de cordée picks up around its mid-point and builds to a
truly gripping climax, the drama sustained by some extraordinary camera
work that powerfully evokes both the beauty and danger of the
incredible Mont Blanc setting. Whilst it is far from being a
masterpiece, the film's stunning visuals are a sight to behold.
The film is all the more impressive when you realise that every one of
its death-defying stunts was filmed for real, within any
trickery. They had guts in those days.
© James Travers 2014
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Film Synopsis
For many years, Jean Servettaz has worked as a mountain guide in
Chamonix but, too aware of the risks of his profession, he gives this
up so that he can run a guest house for tourists. He intends that
his son Pierre will follow his example and become a hotelier but Pierre
is too in love with the mountains to even consider such an idea.
A head injury sustained in a climbing accident puts paid to Pierre's
dreams of becoming a guide. Afflicted with vertigo, he leaves for
Paris and works as a receptionist in a luxury hotel. It isn't
long before Pierre is drawn back to the snow-capped mountains and, with
the help of his fiancée Alice he makes another attempt to
overcome his fear of heights. When his father is caught in a
thunderstorm whilst taking a tourist across a hazardous stretch of the
mountains Pierre has a chance to prove himself...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.