La ferme du pendu

Two years after Becker's excellent 'Goupi mains rouges' we have another everyday story of country folk from Jean Dreville which in its own way is just as compelling. Set in the Pays-de-la-Loire during the inter-war years this is a brilliant depiction of those who earn their livelihood from the soil. Following the death of their father four siblings are left to run the farm. Francois the eldest forbids his sister and two brothers to marry so as to avoid dividing up the domain. One by one they drop away, the sister and one of the brothers leaving for the city and the third brother paying a truly terrible price for his incessant womanising. Francois, no longer a young man, is now obliged to work the land single-handedly for eleven years and when his sister returns to the fold with her son, Francois is happy to know that he finally has an heir......... The casting is spot on here and the performances out of the top drawer, notably Alfred Adam as the skirt-chaser and Charles Vanel as the elder brother. The consistent quality of Vanel's work over a phenomenally long career speaks for itself and he succeeds here in making a tough and uncompromising character sympathetic. There is a small role of a saddler played by Bourvil and although it is generally regarded as his film debut, he had in fact made two films before this billed as Alain Grimor. The cinematography of Andre Thomas and the score by Marcel Delannoy are evocative and contribute immeasurably to the drama. I had hoped for quite a while to come across a film of Dreville's about which I could unreservedly enthuse and my patience has been rewarded. Everything 'gels' here and Dreville himself understandably considered this powerful piece to represent his best work.