Gervaise (1956)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

René Clément

Writers:

Émile Zola (novel) and
Jean Aurenche (writer)

Release Date:

11 November 1957 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

A Most Unusual Love Story in a Most Unusual Motion Picture!

Plot:

Gervaise Macquart, a young lame laundress, is left by her lover Auguste Lantier with two boys... She manages to make it...

Plot Keywords:

Literature | Delirium Tremens | Alcohol Abuse | Museum Trip | Nudity

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 7 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Maria Schell	...	Gervaise Macquart
François Périer	...	Henri Coupeau
Jany Holt	...	Mme Lorilleaux
Mathilde Casadesus	...	Mme Boche
Florelle	...	Maman Coupeau
Micheline Luccioni	...	Clémence
Lucien Hubert	...	M. Poisson
Jacques Harden	...	Goujet
Jacques Hilling	...	M. Boche
Amédée	...	Mes Bottes
Hubert de Lapparent	...	M. Lorilleux (as Hubert Lapparent)
Hélène Tossy	...	Mme Bijard
Rachel Devirys	...	Mme Fauconnier (as Rachel Devyris)
Jacqueline Morane	...	Mme Gaudron
Yvonne Claudie	...	Mme Putois

Also Known As:

Gervaise (USA)
Gervaise (Austria) (East Germany) (West Germany) [de]
Ansa (Finland) [fi]
Gervaise (Sweden) [sv]
I taverna (Greece) [el]
Sen bir melektin (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]

Runtime:

112 min | USA:116 min | West Germany:122 min

Country:

France | Italy

Language:

French

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | West Germany:16 | Sweden:15

Company:

Agnes Delahaie Productions

Movie Connections:

Version of Faldgruben (1909)

GERVAISE (Rene' Clement, 1956) ***

Acclaimed film from Emile Zola's "L'Assomoir": typical of French art-house cinema, it's meticulously-detailed, technically proficient and splendidly acted – however, the main plot of a crippled woman whose ambitions to open her own laundry business are hampered by a complex love life isn't exactly thrilling. Still, one can certainly understand the multitude of international prizes the film won or was nominated for at the time of its release.

In fact, Gervaise (German actress Maria Schell in a luminous performance) is involved throughout with a philandering ne'er-do-well (who fathered her two elder children), her husband – splendidly portrayed by Francois Perier – who loses his job after falling off a roof and subsequently takes to drink (with whom she has another kid) and a young political activist (who gets thrown into jail)! The woman has a similarly ambivalent relationship with her husband's family and the neighbors in the poor quarter where she lives – especially the sister (played by a reptilian Suzy Delair) of the woman with whom her first lover eloped. They have a big fight in the washing centre of town (which even involves some surprising split-second nudity) but, when they meet again, both are willing to bury the hatchet (Delair having married the local police constable)...that is, until the lover himself reappears! Ironically, Perier and his rival become friends (they even look alike!) and the former eventually contrives to have the latter lodge with them!!

Ultimately, though, Perier's drinking problem escalates to the point where he becomes an embarrassment to his wife (admirably, the director does not shy away from showing his vomit-soaked pillow at one point!) and, in a fit of rage, destroys her shop; this harrowing sequence culminates in him being taken away by hospital attendants bruised and raving (in fact, he dies shortly afterwards). Equally depressing, however, is the ending – which finds Schell destitute (having sold the shop to Delair, now in cahoots with her former lover) and herself a frequent customer of the local tavern!; no longer able to care for her youngest daughter, the latter is forced to look out for herself – which she does with naïve optimism.

I have two more titles by the underrated Clement in my unwatched VHS/DVD pile – JOY OF LIVING (1960) and IS Paris BURNING? (1965) – as well as another highly regarded French film starring Maria Schell – Alexandre Astruc's UNE VIE (1958; though available only in its original language)...