Fort Dolorès

The French editor René Chateau just released this invisible movie since more than eighty years (just one projection at the French Cinémathèque recently).

A bunch of disappointed men with women and coming from several countries work in a ranch in deserted South America without seeing any woman ("what's the address? " asked cynically a friend). Unfortunetely, in a neighbor ranch, there is a marvelous woman every man loves.

Very uncommon French movie shot just before WWII, the outside scenes in the ranch and around are shot in Camargue. These scenes can be considered as western modern scenes, with tough faces of lost men. The author Jean de Vallières was member of the Academy of Arles and wrote another movie shot in Camargue, "la Fille du Rhône". This movie reminds me of Thunderhoof by Phil Karlson, some scenes from movies by Jacques Tourneur and even Russian silent movies. The director of photography was Boris Kaufman (Jean Vigo' movies, Baby Doll,...) and some sequences are really stunning.