Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Zazie dans le Métro (1960)

Zazie dans le Métro (1960)
Zazie dans le Métro (1960)

Genre: Comedy
Director: Louis Malle
Starring: Catherine Demongeot, Philippe Noiret, Hubert Deschamps, Carla Marlier
Duration: 89 min.
Rating: 7.1  

Summary:
Zazie, a brash and precocious ten-year-old comes to Paris for a whirlwind weekend with her rakish uncle Gabriel.  However the reckless and uncontrollable Zazie escapes her uncle's custody and sets out to explore Paris on her own.



Zazie dans le Métro is a film from famed French director Louis Malle, based on a novel of the same name by Raymond Queneau.  It takes place in Paris and follows the zany adventures of the title character, Zazie (Catherine Demongeot) a 10 year old girl left in the care of her uncle Gabriel (Philippe Noiret) for the weekend so her mother can spend time with her new boyfriend.

A huge departure from the films I'm accustomed to reviewing, this one also requires some patience, but of a different sort.  It's a crazy film, filled with non stop visual gags, camera tricks, and outlandish editing.  Malle uses the entire bag of cinematic trickery here to create what plays out like a live action version of a Tom and Jerry or Roadrunner cartoon mixed in with some silent-era slapstick.     

The acting here is secondary, but it is Catherine Demongeot's adorable and over precocious performance that makes this a joy to watch.  Aside from the madcap happenings on screen, much of the comedy comes from the wholly inappropriate lines spouted by the young Zazie, language that should be in no normal 10 year old's vocabulary.  Though the subtitles do a decent job, those not fluent in French might not get the intended meaning of the fast paced double entendre and clever word play filled dialog. 

The biggest stumbling block of this film though, is that there is no end to all the madness.  Malle piles on joke after joke until the viewer is no longer able to follow or maintain interest in what's going on.  But maybe that was the whole point, because just like Zazie, you feel ready to take a nap for awhile to escape the crazy world of adults.

Bonjour Tristesse

Zazie dans le Métro (1960)

Zazie dans le Métro (1960)

Zazie dans le Métro (1960)

Zazie dans le Métro (1960)

Zazie dans le Métro (1960)

Zazie dans le Métro (1960)

Zazie dans le Métro (1960)

Zazie dans le Métro (1960)

13 comments:

FrontRoomCinema said...

See that one I am not interested in at all. Just from what you have said and watching the trailer I think it would do my head in totally!!

Thanks for reviewing BT

Jack L said...

I loved this, it's in fact a favourite of mine.
Not many people have seen it unfortunately, but I'm glad you liked it, even if you didn't like it as much as I did...
Louis Malle is one of my favourite film makers, have you seen Ascenseur Pour L'Echafaud, or Le Feu Follet.

d_4 said...

This seems watchable. If I happened to see it around I'd go for it, watch it with my little cousin with popcorn or something like that. I'm not fluent in French, but hey, missing a few jokes when the hay is made of needles won't be that bad.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

That I can understand.  Thanks for reading and commenting.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Yeah I enjoyed it, and the film craft was very interesting, but I found it just a bit too much.  I must admit that I've ignored most of Malle's work until now.  The only one I've seen prior to this was Les amants.

But I have just finished watching Black Moon and loved it.  Review coming in a few days.

I will also seek out those two that you mentioned.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

That is a good point.  You can still quite enjoy this one without fully understanding every word. 

Electric Addict said...

looks like it is worth watching

Smile said...

A bit old and weird but oldies do tend to be goldies

Hoi-Ming Ng said...

Well, I'm out. Sounds like a kid and kid-centered antics.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Yeah it was hilarious, I'm glad I watched it, and I liked that line that makes fun of the New Wave. 

Bonjour Tristesse said...

This one is pretty timeless I think.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Yep, a good one if you are in the mood for some craziness.

Michael Parent said...

In fact, yes it is a bit too much. But in 1960 French directors were experiencing and this film sums-up every trick Cinema has brought in its comedies. Might not be as good as Keaton or Chaplin, but still entertaining and funny!

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