Le grand Meaulnes (2006)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Jean-Daniel Verhaeghe

Writers:

Alain-Fournier (novel)
Jean Cosmos (writer)

Release Date:

4 October 2006 (France)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Plot Keywords:

Based On Novel

Cast

Nicolas Duvauchelle	...	Augustin Meaulnes
Jean-Baptiste Maunier	...	François Seurel
Clémence Poésy	...	Yvonne De Galais
Jean-Pierre Marielle	...	M. de Galais
Philippe Torreton	...	M. Seurel
Émilie Dequenne	...	Valentine
Malik Zidi	...	Franz
Valérie Stroh	...	Millie
Florence Thomassin	...	Mme Meaulnes
Pascal Elso	...	Florentin
Roger Dumas	...	L'horloger
Pierre Vernier	...	Le recteur
Charles Hurez	...	Delouche
Clément Naslin	...	Dutremblay
Samuel Brafman-Moutier	...	Roy (as Samuel Brafman)

Runtime:

France:97 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Certification:

Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Taiwan:R-12

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Company:

Mosca Films

Movie Connections:

Version of Le grand Meaulnes (1967)

A poor version with no vision

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

If the Albicocco version (1967) of this celebrated French novel overdid the dream like quality of the central scenes of the story, with smeary psychedelic photography and so on, it at least cast the characters perfectly, and each of the principles convinced in their adolescent intensity. Oh the woeful dullness of this plodding adaptation. I would have welcomed a few minutes of smeared lens if I could have the intensity back and a truthful adaptation, here all is lost from the start. ( Spoiler) In the 1967 version each of the mysteries was unravelled in exactly the right sequence.For instance when Meaulnes returns from the 'fête etrange' he is hiding under his blouson schoolboy smock a fancy waistcoat from the 18thc, it is revealed only when he gets ready for bed in the attic room he shares with Seurel, the moment of its discovery leads to the unravelling of the whole story of what happened to Meaulnes in his absence. All of this was done exactly right in the 1967 version. In the 2006 film Meaulnes slouches through the school gate with the waistcoat already showing. When he is in bed the waistcoat is thrown over a chair back Seurel picks it up and Meaulnes snatches it away from him petulantly,crossly and it is so WRONG!!! There are many more instances obviously the 1967 film may have the huge drawback of having the fête shot through a distorted and greased lens but otherwise it does not tamper with the structure. Where is Ganache the Pierrot and the visit of the travelling circus, crucial to any adaptation of this book, thrown away, deemed 'too much' perhaps and so the soul of the story has been thrown out along with everything else that made it special.If only Jean Renoir had been allowed to film the book in 1936 or so, oh the dreams of what might have been.