Thursday 22 October 2009

provence at the movies

representing provence on film seems to be done better by the french than by the anglos, i feel the anglo filmmakers are like kids at a sweet shop they don't know what to choose and miss out on the best .though i do have a theory the locals don't share the best with outsiders. for any one wanting to penetrate provence they could do worse than see jean de florette and manon de source,and the gloire de mon pere , the latter is focused on the early life of author and film director pagnol. gloire filmed on the plateau above the masif de garlaban is a must to see as it captures the essence of the country sides especially its more ferocious aspects .then there is the marseille trilogy again by pagnol, and the powerful hussar su la toit, set in cholera ridden countryside and inspired by the work of giono whose writings focus on the harsh realities of life in land and mountainous provence. with a certain sense of guilt i also enjoyed the joshua logan take on the marseille trilogy fanny. filmed in Marseilles by an American company it really caught the whiff of the waterfront. though the casting of septegangrian maurice chavalier as rival of 4o years younger and very handsome horst bucholz stretched credibility some what.to be avoided the BBC series a year in provence the leads were the toally charmless lindsay duncan and john thaw ,it failed to tick any of the necessary boxes and was rightfully a complete disaster read .to cap it all a good year aridely scott movie lumbered with his fatal attraction russel crowe and marian cotlliard rolled out the cliches- proving that neither were really starry enough to truimph over a terrible script . don't film what you don't know about is the axiom that has been ignored here. there are three versions of the count of monte christo. i never pass the ans de catalans without thinking edmund dantes and Mercedes. there is robert donat version 1936 which is a worthy attempt, the gerard depardiueu version the right side of ok and filmed around la coitat. the jim cavziel latest attempt is too sadistic and hampered by weak performances and a total lack of charm .if there are any more titles to add to these let us know provence should be a more fruitful source than it is .it is quite amazing so few movies have really captured the essence of this cold land with a hot sun

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