Manon
Classics
•
1h 45m
This masterful adaptation of Prévost's 1731 novel 'Manon Lescaut' marks quite a departure for Henri-Georges Clouzot, the French director lauded for his acclaimed thrillers 'The Wages of Fear' and 'Les Diaboliques'. A classical tragic romance transposed to a World War II setting, Clouzot's film follows the travails of Manon (Cécile Aubry), a village girl accused of collaborating with the Nazis who is rescued from imminent execution by a former French Resistance fighter (Michel Auclair). The couple move to Paris, but their relationship turns stormy as they struggle to survive, resorting to profiteering, prostitution and even murder. Eventually escaping to Palestine, the pair attempt a treacherous desert crossing in search of the happiness which seems to forever elude them... Clouzot's astute portrayal of doomed young lovers caught in the disarray of post-war France wowed the jury of the 1949 Venice Film Festival, where it won the Golden Lion award.
Up Next in Classics
-
Mélo
1986 • France • Directed by Alain Resnais
Master director Alain Resnais ('Last Year in Marienbad') blurs the line between cinematic technique and theatrical artifice in his acclaimed 'Mélo', adapted from Henri Bernstein's classic play about a doomed love triangle in 1920s Paris. Pierre (Pierre ...
-
Smash Palace
1981 ･ New Zealand ･ Directed by Roger Donaldson
Smash Palace concerns itself with the marriage of former racing driver Al (Bruno Lawrence, The Quiet Earth) and French-born Jacqui (Anna Jemison, Nomads). The pair had met when she nursed him back to health following a career-ending injury. They m...
-
Bloody Spear at Mount Fuji
2018 • Japan • Directed by Tomu Uchida
Praised by Japanese film critics and much admired by his contemporaries, Tomu Uchida nonetheless remains a little-known in the west. His 1955 masterpiece Bloody Spear at Mount Fuji is an excellent entry point for the newcomer. Set during the Edo period, Blo...
