Gervaise

François Perier as the alcoholic Henri Coupeau is unsurpassed as sick man having his overdose and delirium by alcohol. Maria Shell as Gervaise is convincing as the poor woman working day and night for the drunken men she is having in her home and her little daughter! This movie should be shown to all people having drinking problems. As it is set in a different period (the end of the second Emperor Napoleon's reign) is has something universal. The general atmosphere of this epoch is however very accurate.

This is a beautifully made, but terribly sad film, based on one of Emile Zola's most depressing stories of French life in the 1800s.

Gervaise is a poor woman with a poorer choice of men. She is loving, smart, and industrious, but falls for superficial, lazy drunks who take advantage of her. While she tries to provide for her family by following her dream of owning her own shop, her husband drinks away the profits and complicates her life by inviting her former lover to live in their house.

I can't say enough good things about Maria Schell's glowing performance as a tragic heroine. Her beautiful, expressive face is impossible to forget, and her emotional range is impressive. The rest of the cast is also pitch-perfect, from her various neighbors and clients, down to the lovely little girl who plays daughter Nana with touching sadness.

Surgeon general's warning: don't watch this film while under the influence of alcohol or mood- depressing drugs. It might push you over your limit.

This as far as I know is the only film version of a very famous story by a French Novelist called Emile Zola. It is "L'Assommoir" and is the story of how drink and alcohol can ruin lives and kill. The film is extremely well acted but seems a bit "short" compared to the book which has far more lurid details concerning the downfall of each of the characters. The story takes place behind the Gare du Nord in the Northern Sector of Paris in what is called today the "Quartier de la Goutte d'Or". Unfortunately that area today bears absolutely no resemblance to that portrayed either in the book or the film and is extremely dangerous and violent - any visit of it is strongly advised against. Anyway the story is very moving but be warned the outcome is not a happy one. One other thing, the book is one of a series written by Zola about a family called "Les Rougon-Macquart". The series also includes the book "Germinal" which has several times been made as a film. But of all the films of Zola's books I have see, L'Assommoir (Gervaise ) is my favourite !

"Gervaise" is an adaptation of the novel "L'assommoir" (1877, Emile Zola). In this novel a working cass woman breaks down due to a lot of bad luck and a lot of booze. When the novel came out there was discussion if the book was defending the working class (describing their harsh live) or insulting the working class (describing their alcohol abuse).

The film above everything seems to be defending women, describing the struggle Gervaise (Maria Schell) has to wage against the two idlers of husbands that play a role in her life. This is because the film omits the excessive pride of Gervaise that she does have in the novel. This results in a totally innocent woman having bad luck again and again. This overdose of bad luck gives the film a somewhat moralistic tone (it has sometimes been denoted as a very long commercial against alcohol abuse) and even becomes unintentionally funny / corny.

Although the film is somewhat outdates, it was one of the nominees for best foreign language film in 1956, so the film must have its pros. Apart from the acting of Maria Schell I would like to mention the beautiful setpieces. The film has partly the same bittersweet (a little bit more bitter) mood as "Casque d'or" (1952, Jacques Becker), a film that was made and situated in the same time as "Gervaise".

This is one of the best movie I've ever seen. Maria Schell is beautiful and hearthbreaking.I am not surprised it won the best foreign film of 1956. Suzy Delair is terrific and Francois Perier is superb. I will never forget this movie. It touched me deeply.