LA CHIENNE (1931) A Film Review by Ted Prigge Copyright 1997 Ted Prigge
Director: Jean Renoir Writer: Jean Renoir (based on the novel by Georges de la Fouchardiere) Starring: Michel Simon, Janie Mareze, Georges Flamant, Gaillard, Magdeleine Berubet
When watching Jean Renoir's early masterpiece, "La Chienne" (literal translation: "The Female Dog;" less literal translation: "The Bitch"), one would probably not be shocked at all...until you realize exactly when this was made. Then the fact that it was incredibly controversial is rather clear.
"La Chienne" is a black tragi-comedy, featuring a tragic story told with a darkly comic edge (just so you get what I was going for). It tells the story of Maurice Legrand (Michel Simon), an ugly, spineless, blue-collar worker, married to Adele (Magdeliene Berubet), a pure bitch (but not the "bitch" of the title), who is so heartless that she gives him a feeble allowance on the money he earns at his job, all while she does nothing. This whole introduction is built a bit like that one "Twilight Zone" episode starring Burgess Meredith as the man who likes to read too much, causing his wife to hate him, as well as everyone else (he eventually survives nuclear holocaust and finds he has all the time in the world to read his books - but you know about those TW endings).
Maurice's life changes when he runs into Lucienne "Lulu" Pelletier (Janie Mareze), a woman who seems to be beaten up by a pimp named Dede (Georges Flamant). They begin a lovely little affair, chiefly because he's utterly unhappy at home, and with good reason. In Maurice's pastime, he paints, which soon start to give him a profit when he begins selling them, which Lulu starts to use. Soon, Maurice is flat-out in love with her, and is ready to do anything for her.
The film presents a wonderful character study, all filled with people who are selfish and sometimes evil. Maurice is a sympathetic character, but he's also an adulteror, and still a tad selfish, even if not by comparison to the other characters. At one point, a character enters the story who needs his help, and he only thinks of how he can use him for his benefit.
The ending is sweetly tragic, with each character getting what's due to them, yet is filled with a kind of deceptively upbeatness to it all. The whole film has a wonderful black comedy undertone, with a lot of the dialogue being hysterically risque for the early 30s. The film sets the tone for the film with a wonderfully original puppet show, presenting the film as being highly satirical and comical, even if it is tragic.
"Le Chienne" was so risque for its time that it was actually banned in some countries. It was never even shown in England and America until 1975 (!!!) because it was so controversial. I mean the cover shows a never-seen shot of a violent part of the film (it's a great poster), showing the extent of how shocking it was for the time. But anyay, we also see a lot of great camera-workings, some fantastic early surrealism, experiments with the narrative, clever writing, and what seems to be early signs of film noir.
"La Chienne" is one of those great over-looked films, although it's not as fantastic and/or memorable as, say, Renoir's later "Grand Illusion." But in its own respects, "La Chienne" is an incredible, engrossing little piece of cinema, and a pure french movie classic.
MY RATING (out of 4): ****
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