Un homme et son chien

Making the transition from leading man to character actor is fraught with difficulty and very few have managed to pull it off. In the case of Jean-Paul Belmondo his fan base had dwindled even before his debilitating stroke and following an hiatus of seven years he has chosen to return to the screen in what turned out to be a lacklustre remake of Vittorio de Sica's classic 'Umberto D'.

It has been adapted from master screenwriter Cesare Zavattini's original whilst the score of Philippe Rombi is as poignant as that of Alessandro Cicognini but director Francis Huster is alas no de Sica and whereas the sentiment of the earlier film had been tempered by de Sica's subtlety and finesse, here it is laid on with a trowel. We sympathised with Umberto as played by the unknown, non-professional Carlo Battisti whose elderly character finds himself on the scapheap of society but here one finds oneself pitying not so much Charles but the iconic, stricken Belmondo.

Huster has filmed his star exclusively from the left side for obvious reasons, his close-ups are unforgiving but we are treated to the trademark roguish grin without which no performance of his would be complete. He is supported by some splendid actors in cameo roles, notably Emmanuelle Riva, Micheline Presle and Max von Sydow with whom he has an especially fine scene.

It was Belmondo's intention to give encouragement to stroke victims but this sad spectacle would be more likely to have the opposite effect. Whether his appearance in this is courageous or misguided is of course down to the individual viewer but the film's poor reception, both critical and financial, must have been a great disappointment to him.

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Belmondo had been a pugilist in his earlier days and remained a boxing aficianado so he might well have found appropriate the words of Sugar Ray Robinson: "Time is the undefeated champion of us all".

Since there seems to be a requirement that the review be at least ten lines long, and since there is absolutely nothing anyone ought to write or say about this film, before I come to the single-word conclusion, which is more than is needed to assess the result of some awful waste of money, time, and even possibly talent in places, although it would be very difficult to ascertain where exactly that talent were to be found if one discounted the obvious life-time merits of M. Belmondo and how great he used to be in earlier times, despite his starring in some fairly mediocre fare as well as in evergreens that shall never perish, I am pressed to exercise some verbosity before coming with the inevitable: Unbearable. And there you have it.

It takes a lot of guts to fulfill such a role.

Kudos to you,Philippe Guenot:this is your best comment so far!Or at least my favorite of yours !

I am amazed by the very weak rating:this is not a subject hip people dig. Of course De Sica's harrowing " Umberto D "(1951) comes to mind (it is more or less its remake:Cesare Zavattini is credited);the most memorable scene of De Sica's masterwork is included :Belmondo holds out his hand to beg but he says he 's only looking if it is raining!And it roughly follows its plot. Francis Huster lets his cine buff inspiration flow:

For instance,the sequence in the church will fatally remind the viewer of "Leon Morin Pretre" by Melville this memorable sequence when Emmanuelle Riva tells Belmondo that religion is the opium of the people ;to hear her reciting the gospel depicting Christ's death is gripping.

It also recalls Julien Duvivier's masterpiece "La Fin Du Jour " (1939): in a house for retired people ,it depicted the sad end of aging actors :that may explain the numerous cameos by very famous actors :Robert Hossein's appearance does not exceed a few seconds (you read well) and a somber Bergmanian Max Von Sydow seems to have definitely lost his chess game with death.Pierre Mondy seems to cling to the tree of life but his words depict a depressing reality. Never perhaps since the great Duvivier,a French director had shown the wrinkled faces in close shot ,hoping against hope,and trying to smile in spite of everything.

The young generation is featured too and then again,the choice of the actors is not gratuitous : Sarah Biasini is Romy Schneider's daughter ,the late actress with whom Belmondo had one of his first important supporting parts (Ein Engel Auf Erde ,1959);as Philippe points out in his insightful review, Jean Dujardin is Belmondo' s successor .

Belmondo gives one of his best performances, a very restrained playing;his commitment to his part is extraordinary.Sometimes we feel he attends these scenes of everyday life,but he does not care anymore,as if he were in another world where only his doggie has a place ;it's not a movie you leave unscathed: the man's fate and all his friends ' is our universal fate ,that's why people do not accept the fact that time waits for no one and it won't wait for us all either.

It will probably be Belmondo's swansong : Salut l'Artiste!

the charm of Belmondo. the dialogs. the interesting story who is far to be special, original or extraordinary. an old man. and his search of purpose of his life. a dog. a young woman. and the air of life in a long trip. a film who gives only questions. about the career of a significant French actor who seems be the same with his character. for few scenes who seems be fragments of well known past. for the silences who are the pillars of a film who has only ambition for be a form of eulogy to the memories and the choices for preserve it. one of films who must see. because, in few scenes, the screen becomes window. film about nothing, in fact, it is one of rare occasions to discover the beauty of small things.

not exciting. not extraordinary. only beautiful. for story. for cast. for memories about few great actors, each good in his genre. short, for the meeting, good/noble meeting. and for an exercise about solitude and search of purpose, for the dog and for the good intentions. maybe, the expectations are high for many viewers. but, I admit, not the performance, not the errors of script are important for me. only few scenes who reminds old roles. and a sketch about every day reality . the thin piece of nostalgia and sadness. and the end. or, maybe, only an old Belmondo in a movie who could have as subject himself. in rest, the excellent silence.