One close look at French cinéaste René Féret's career would reveal that on a couple of occasions he has made quite unexpected artistic moves. Fernand is one such example of a film which comes as a complete surprise not only for him but also for entire French cinema.This film was made by René Féret after healthy successes of his first two safe films : L'histoire de Paul and La Communion Solemnelle.Fernand is a kind of film which one can describe as a total shock.It is a film about Parisian society's outcasts and it was largely inspired by German expressionism especially by German classic Berlin Alexanderplatz.It is a film in which destroyed innocence is shown in the form of an uncommon love story between a young criminal who is more of a dreamer and a talented dancing girl cum hooker.As Fernand it is a kind of modern day fable some of its scenes have a magic like quality to them.This film is also like a tale of puppets as the destiny of its players is controlled by one another.Fernand is a great film which was sadly ignored by French public upon its initial release.It is a nice film to watch for those film enthusiasts who would like to know René Féret's cinema in a better manner.
