COLONEL CHABERT
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 1995 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): *** 1/2
COLONEL CHABERT is one fantastic movie. Among those who truly excelled were: the two leads, one supporting role, the director, the set decorator, and the cinematographer. Everyone else who touched the movie was gifted as well.
COLONEL CHABERT, by the great author Balzac, is a mystery and a drama. Even more important, it is a character study of four people. In 1817, a bum (Gerard Depardieu) walks into a lawyer's office. He weaves a disconnected tale to the lawyer (Fabrice Luchini) of him being a dead soldier--the famous and rich Colonel Chabert. He wants to sue his ex-wife (Fanny Ardant) to get his money back.
This suit is complicated since the colonel has been officially dead for ten years and his wife is now married to a Count (Andre Dussollier) who is a social climber in the post-Napoleonic French royal court. Moreover, the lawyer he picks is also his ex-wife's lawyer, and the "colonel" knows all of this.
This plot setup happens in the first few minutes of the show. >From that point on, expect many surprises. I challenge you to guess the ending. I will only say that the ending is good, and yet it leaves you with some ambiguities and a few loose ends.
My favorite part of the show is easily the Academy Award quality supporting actor role of the lawyer. He is tricky, complex, and absolutely mesmerizing. He dominates every scene he is end which is a strong compliment when playing opposite these two leads. Easily the best scene in the show is when "Colonel Chabert" charms the lawyer with his story. When he leaves, the lawyer says he has seen the greatest actor of his time.
Depardieu and Ardant do award-caliber work as well. Watch their faces and listen to the intonation of each word. It is a joy to see such great artists at work. The cinematography is marvelous through out, but it is at the height of perfection in the lighting on the faces and in the blue gray of the lawyer's office. The office itself reminds me of something by one of the great Dutch painters like Vermeer. This and many other scenes show the brilliance in the set decoration.
The overall composition of the show and the careful direction of all of the characters means that much of the credit has to go to the director, Yves Angelo. I read that this was his directorial debut, in which case, I eagerly await his second directing job.
What would I change, probably nothing. If you see the show and give it ****, I would not argue with you. I almost did myself.
The movie is perfectly timed and runs 1:50. It is in French with easy to follow English subtitles. It is not rated, but I would guess it would get PG-13 for a total of about five minutes of battle scenes. Other than the battles, there is no sex, violence, nudity, or bad language of any kind. I think any child over ten could see it and any teenager would enjoy it. I strongly recommend it and rate it *** 1/2.
**** = One of the top few films of this or any year. A must see film. *** = Excellent show. Look for it. ** = Average movie. Kind of enjoyable. * = Poor show. Don't waste your money. 0 = One of the worst films of this or any year. Totally unbearable.
REVIEWED WRITTEN ON: February 21, 1995
Opinions expressed are solely mine & not meant to reflect my employer's.
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