Film Review
Having entered the film industry as a lowly editor, Robert Enrico first
earned his directorial spurs with a short film,
La Rivière du Hibou, which
received not only the first prize for a short subject at the 1962
Cannes Film Festival but also an academy award in 1963 for the best
live action short. The following year, his first feature,
La Belle vie (1963), won him the
Jean Vigo prize, although the film was subsequently banned by the
French censor because of its controversial point of view on the
Algerian War.
Throughout the 1960s and 70s, Enrico was a prominent film director in
France, working with some of the biggest stars and alternating
adventure films, literary adaptations and intimate dramas. One of
his films in the latter category is
Tante
Zita (1968), which was first released in Paris on 12th January
1968 and met with a generally positive response. Based on
incidents in the life of his wife (Lucienne Hamon), the narrative was
developed by Enrico's faithful screenwriter Pierre Pelegri into a
simple but endearing story in which a young girl's escape from reality
represents a final break from childhood dependency.
Whilst it may not be in the same league as Enrico's better known films,
such as
Les Grandes gueules (1966),
Les Aventuriers (1967) and
Le Vieux fusil (1975),
Tante Zita is still worth watching
as it offers an engaging and honest reflection on the meaning of life
without succumbing to schmaltzy melodrama. Once again, composer
François de Roubaix lends his voice to Enrico's latest project
with a rich score that evokes the sadness of solitude as well as
referencing popular dance themes of the era.
After whetting our appetite in
Les
Aventuriers, former supermodel Joanna Shimkus (a Canadian
actress who ended up marrying the actor-turned-diplomat Sydney Poitier)
plays the lead character Annie. For some, Shimkus is an actress
of rare sensitivity; for others, she fails to be convincing, let down
in this film by her inability to conceal her English accent. More
impressive is the actress who plays Shimkus's French mother Yvette,
Suzanne Flon. From the early 1940s onwards, Flon had a remarkable
career as a supporting actress, appearing in more than seventy films,
which include John Huston's
Moulin rouge (1952), Orson
Welles'
The Trial (1962) and Joseph
Losey's
Monsieur Klein (1976).
Suitably cast as the titular Aunt Zita is Katina Paxinou, a Greek
actress who was once a successful opera singer, previously seen in
Orson Welles'
Mr Arkdin
(1955) and Luchino Visconti's
Rocco and His Brothers (1960),
where she plays Alain Delon and Renato Salvotori's mother. Paul
Crauchet, a fine supporting actor with 130 cinema and television
credits to his name, is well-chosen for the part of the family doctor,
Bernard. Bernard Fresson, an actor used to playing characters
with strong personalities, turns in a nice character performance as the
shepherd Boni. Playing the compassionate double bassist is the
charismatic Spanish actor Josep Maria Flotats, whose romantic
appearance was revealed in Alain Resnais's
La Guerre est finie (1966).
Tante Zita may be a minor
entry in Robert Enrico's dazzling filmography but it enjoyed some
success on its first release and reveals a much gentler, more humane
side to the film director than we could ever have imagined. This
little gem is waiting to be discovered in all its glory on DVD.
© Willems Henri (Brussels, Belgium) 2013
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Next Robert Enrico film:
Boulevard du rhum (1971)
Film Synopsis
Teenager Annie lives in a Parisian apartment with her mother Yvette and
her aunt Zita. When she comes home from school one day, Annie
finds her aunt lying on the ground and immediately alerts the house
doctor, Bernard. Zita's health gradually deteriorates and Annie
and Yvette become exhausted through having to take care of the old
woman. In the end, Annie cannot stand the situation any longer
and runs away. In the street, she meets Simon, a rock musician,
and follows him to a place where there are mini car races. When,
a short time later, Annie is picked up by the police, Bernard comes to
collect her. Then Bernard learns that Zita has just died.
He decides not to pass on the news to Annie...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.