There's a legend in my country about "la Jument Verte" .They say it had a PG 21 when it was released!One thing for sure,the Catholic Office of Cinema did not like the film ,that's putting it mildly.I quote them: "disguting scenes, defamation of the peasants ".
Today the movie would not get a PG 12.Has this saucy farce worn that much well?I have my doubts."L'Auberge Rouge" was sometimes verging on slapstick but the lines were witty,the cinematography dazzling and the cast wonderful.
A cast against type Bourvil portrays a definitely repellent character:his mother was raped by a Prussian during the 1870 war ,because of his neighbor's denunciation.Since the two families have become deadly enemies.
Although Aurenche wrote the dialog,although it was a Marcel Aymé book -Marcel Aymé who wrote "les Contes du Chat Perché" maybe the best French book for children of the twentieth century-, Autant-Lara's work is not funny anymore:we have seen worse since,and enough is enough:this accumulation of daring jokes,of salacious puns ,of "disgusting scenes" reduces the peasants on the level of animals .The Christian press was perhaps not that much wrong after all.
The best of the movie is its beginning:it 's a faux fairytale ,told by a female voice over (which is very rare,generally it's a male one).Once upon a time ,there was a farmer who had a green mare ...it could almost be Charles Perrault telling his "Peau d'Ane" (Donkey Skin) tale.Alas ,in spite of the title,the green mare plays a very small part in the story ....
Maybe Autant-Lara whose films between 1959 and 1961 were blatantly (or should I say) basely commercial,needed money to make his accursed movie (and still waiting to be brought of oblivion) "Tu ne Tueras Point" (aka
"l'Objecteur").
