Claudine à l'école

Claudine à l'Ecole is such a funny comedy from 1937 with all its bucolic and rousseauiste scenes in the Valley of Chevreuse in the west of Paris : Claudine swimming naked in the river, sleeping in the fields in the straw, walking in the hills, seeing scenes with farmers, and a lot of scenes in old villages with old sets. Filming these scenes on location was a documentary and poetic vision of the way of life in the thirties, especially all the school scenes.

And Serge de Poligny uses very fine editing and camera movements to show this wonderful country and way of life, like painters also did. The Valley of Chevreuse is still a lovely place for strolling among the forest, hills, cascades, lakes, villages.

And the very best of this charming movie is the lovely Blanchette Brunoy. Un délice.