Les Bas-fonds / The Lower Depths (1936) :
Brief Review -
A fatalistic take on the rich vs poor statement in a comedic venture that nobody thought at that time. Nobody but Jean Renoir. Les Bas-fonds can be termed a less-experimented flick by the French master Jean Renoir since the production is stagy and it sticks to depicting a story of poverty rather than the actual issues and consequences. It's somewhat boring in those parts but survives because of the comedic statement on the traditional "Rich vs Poor" battle. I don't think any filmmaker attempted a rich vs poor theme at that time (pardon me if I am not aware of any films). I remember some comedies and feel-good dramas made on the same theme where the rich and the poor swap their places/indentities to learn about life, but that was mostly in the 60s or 70s. The 1930s were about crime sagas (including children-driven films) set in slums, and then there was Renoir's "The Lower Depth" which changed that "Versus" into "With". In the film, we see a rich baron lose all the money, make friends with a tramp and a small-time thief from the slums, and eventually become one of the slum members. This was unique and impressive. Actually, this was the only and most beautiful part of the film. The romance and the climax were nothing new. Coincidentally, Chaplin's Depression-era classic, "Modern Times" (1936), also came in the same year. Remember that hero-heroine's walk in the climax? Les Bas-fonds will remind you of Modern Times. Same context, just characters and situations differ. Jean Gabin is good in the role of Pepel, but it's Suzy Prim as Vassilissa who steals the show here. Louis Jouvet's baron is somewhat funny, and Jany Holt's stingy words to Pepel sound cute. As a whole, Jean Renoir's film lacks something but provides a lot for its time and especially for a new wave of that time in French cinema.
RATING - 7/10*
By - #samthebestest.
A fatalistic take on the rich vs poor statement in a comedic venture that nobody thought at that time. Nobody but Jean Renoir. Les Bas-fonds can be termed a less-experimented flick by the French master Jean Renoir since the production is stagy and it sticks to depicting a story of poverty rather than the actual issues and consequences. It's somewhat boring in those parts but survives because of the comedic statement on the traditional "Rich vs Poor" battle. I don't think any filmmaker attempted a rich vs poor theme at that time (pardon me if I am not aware of any films). I remember some comedies and feel-good dramas made on the same theme where the rich and the poor swap their places/indentities to learn about life, but that was mostly in the 60s or 70s. The 1930s were about crime sagas (including children-driven films) set in slums, and then there was Renoir's "The Lower Depth" which changed that "Versus" into "With". In the film, we see a rich baron lose all the money, make friends with a tramp and a small-time thief from the slums, and eventually become one of the slum members. This was unique and impressive. Actually, this was the only and most beautiful part of the film. The romance and the climax were nothing new. Coincidentally, Chaplin's Depression-era classic, "Modern Times" (1936), also came in the same year. Remember that hero-heroine's walk in the climax? Les Bas-fonds will remind you of Modern Times. Same context, just characters and situations differ. Jean Gabin is good in the role of Pepel, but it's Suzy Prim as Vassilissa who steals the show here. Louis Jouvet's baron is somewhat funny, and Jany Holt's stingy words to Pepel sound cute. As a whole, Jean Renoir's film lacks something but provides a lot for its time and especially for a new wave of that time in French cinema.
RATING - 7/10*
By - #samthebestest.