TEN DAYS' WONDER, THE (DECADE PRODIGIEUSE, LA) (director: Claude Chabrol; screenwriters: Paul Gégauff/Paul Gardner/Eugene Archer; cinematographer: Jean Rabier; cast: Orson Welles (Theo), Anthony Perkins (Charles), Marlene Jobert (Helene), Michel Piccoli (professor), 1972-Fr.)
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
Chabrol continues to make original films in his own inimical style, some very successful, others not quite hitting the mark. This one is a theological mystery that is done in English, from an Ellery Queen novel. It is supported by a fine cast who set an eerie mood for a story that will involve adultery, madness, blackmail, deception, jealousy, theology, and murder. Its results are mixed, being that it succeeds as something different from most thrillers but, it is rather chaotically done. At times it looks as if it were a B- movie.
Perkins' over-the-top portrayal of the manic Charles is eye catching. He has sex with his father's wife Helene (Marlene), his young stepmother. This is done in the handsome style Chabrol has come to be known for when he wants to raise eyebrows about the bourgeoisie. Charles is the adopted son of Theo (Orson), who found him on the doorsteps of his house and decided to keep him. Theo is an eccentrically wealthy man who owns just about everything in the village they live in. In 1925, he built his excessively palatial dream mansion with 80 rooms, needing seven servants to take care of the occupants and the vast grounds.
We first come across Charles in a hotel room, as he awakens from a religious dream all covered with blood. He suffers from memory loss of how he spent the last four days. Worried about this he calls his old college philosophy professor (Piccoli), who he has not seen for years but, of whom, he has fond memories. He invites the professor to be his guest at the mansion, hoping that the professor can piece things together for him. He tells of his relationship with his father's wife, shows him his studio where he has done classical Greek sculptures of such deities as Jupiter, and he mentions that he is being blackmailed, having written love letters to Helene that were stolen and now are in the possession of the blackmailer.
To pay off the blackmail ransom, Charles steals $25,000 from his father's safe, making it look like a robbery. But the blackmailer calls again, saying he has photostats of the original letters. This time Helene pawns her diamond necklace, as Charles has the professor do the actual pawning of it. This backfires, as Theo discovers that the necklace is missing and reports that to the police. They bring the pawnbroker to his house, where he identifies the professor as the one who pawned it. Theo wants to know why, and the professor tells him to ask his son. Charles gets angry with the professor for implicating him in the theft and rebuffs the professor.
The film begins to make sense if you view it from the unique theological spin it puts on the story. By coincidence, on the train back to Paris, the professor overhears a little girl talk about God and the Ten Commandments (the film takes its title by comparing the ten days leading up to the main event in this story with the precepts found in the Ten Commandments). The professor figures out that Theo is playing God; and, by realizing his imperfections, jealousy overcomes him. Thereby, he can't control his urge to destroy. But the professor arrives too late, and a murder is committed to make it appear like a suicide, with the intention of blaming all the robberies on the mentally disturbed Charles.
This unique film is both awkward and mesmerizing, and at all times tantalizing our sensiblities. It seems to want to question how deep our faith is in God, which is a recurring theme in many Chabrol films. The answers are skewed, as Chabrol is cynical enough to believe that the rich can get away with anything, including murder. The professor, the hero of the story, walks away from all this with a clear conscience. But Theo remains Godlike, charming the public and buying them off with his wealth, making sure that they are only aware of his benevolent side. This is a film that might seem better the second and third time you view it than it does at first.
REVIEWED ON 1/10/99 GRADE: C+
Dennis Schwartz: "Ozus' World Movie Reviews"
http://www.sover.net/~ozus
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