Stars: Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward and Sidney Poitier
Beyond the music and the sights of Paris, this impressed from moment one because of the subtle, almost carefree way that the film deals with race, and you can be sure, this being a Sidney Poitier film, it has to do with race. Bowen and Cook are in Paris to play because nobody cares about their colour, they just care about how what they can do. Marie Seoul certainly doesn't care and she runs the Club 33 where they play on the same stage. Their audiences don't care either and neither do the sassy couple of American girls who meet Ram at the train station and become a firm fixture in their lives, even though they're only in Paris for a two week holiday.
Before long, as she and Eddie walk by the Seine it comes up. 'You want to have fun or you want to discuss the race issue?' he asks. She's talking about the race issue back home, of course, not in Paris where there isn't one. Eddie is happy to be there, where he's known as 'Eddie Cook, musician' not 'Eddie Cook, negro musician', but Connie sees it a little differently. She sees the situation back in the States as bad but improving and it can only improve further if there are black people there to improve it, rather than skipping off to Paris to live the easy life where there are no battles to fight. This is the main thrust of the film, however subtly it's played. I know intercontinental love stories, having lived one, but this goes well beyond the more obvious one about which country a couple would stay in if they got together.
The film was shot in Paris, which adds plenty of flavour and authenticity, and the use of a number of French actors and musicians helps too. Serge Reggiani was both. He didn't get a huge part in La Ronde as Franz the soldier so it's great to see him in a more substantial role as a gypsy guitarist called Michel Duvigne with a serious drug habit. Barbara Laage is great as the clubowner Marie Seoul and it's not surprising to find that Orson Welles originally wrote the Rita Hayworth role in The Lady from Shanghai for her. Most experienced of all is André Luguet, whose screen career went back to 1910, far enough back that he was in at least one of the original Fantômas serials. I've seen him in American movies before, precodes like The Mad Genius, Love is a Racket and Jewel Robbery, but I don't think I've seen a single one of his French films. I definitely still have plenty of catchup to do.
1 comment:
Great review!
We're linking to your article for Paul Newman Tuesday at SeminalCinemaOutfit.com
Keep up the good work!
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