Ivan Govar's name is completely forgotten today. Not that it has ever been famous... And yet this Belgian filmmaker is definitely out of the ordinary. (Guy Bellinger)
Because he lacked the focus to develop his ideas (or select well among them),he remained a very minor director ,although one with major potential in two or three of his works.
But what can the cine buff do when confronted with such forgettable stuff as "Le Circuit De Minuit" " Y'en A Marre" (aka "Ce Soir On Tue") or "Que Personne Ne Sorte"? ;on the other hand ," Un Soir Par Hasard " and "Deux Heures A Tuer" are intriguing and had great potential even though their director was not able to see them through;nevertheless,these two movies are well Worth watching.
"Nous N'Irons Plus Au Bois",which borrows its title from a famous folk song of the eighteenth century (we see children dance in a ring to this lovely tune) ,a well-chosen title for a movie which deals with a youngster whose childhood was stolen by a shrew .
It's Govar's debut : a medium-length film (42 min) ,he was only 19 when he made it ;he also played the part of Gus ,the would be nice guy. The beginning was a daring move for the time:an article told us the whole story before we Watch the movie :" a twice murderer young man was shot down after a man hunt ;he had killed his stepmother and was sent to a reformatory;no sooner had he been released than he murdered a farm girl".
As soon as the unfortunate criminal appear,we know he is a victim of fate :the actor resembles contemporary thespian Jérémie Rénier ,with whom he shares the same sensibility .Some may complain about this "spoiler" ,but it does not ruin the movie for all that;on the contrary ,we know that Yan's fate is sealed and nothing can change it;it increases tenfold our sympathy for him .
Yan found his native village a markedly less sympathetic place ,his father ,not inspired by the prodigal son parable ,only allows his only son to sleep in his barn for one night;even the nature seems hostile in a God -forsaken world -the song which starts the movie is not the old perennial ditty but a lugubrious lament ,imploring the good Lord ;in a house near decay ,he can still his shrew of a stepmother yell at him.From now on,we do know he is primarily a victim.
Hoping against hope ,Yan tries to pick up the pieces .But the providential world (epitomized by good friend Gus and lover Maria) is pure illusion;whereas he thought he could count on a friend ,there is just a jealous guy who leads the man hunt;whereas he was dreaming of love with a pure girl in a white dress -who fleetingly appears in the wood-,he's left with a sensual crude girl who sleeps with the first to come.
There's some clumsiness -notably the death of Maria- but the amateurish filming on location -one more time,the Nouvelle Vague did not invent it- inspires its vital extremism,notably in the final kill .Yan ,tracked down by the populace stops and leans back against a big old black tree ,searching for an illusory protection
Although Govar's very small cult consider this short work a blueprint for "La Croix Des Vivants" which was inspired ,even more, by the parable of the prodigal son,this work is an impressive debut ;had Govar continued in this vein,he would have been a name to be reckoned with .
Like this? Try these.....
"Mouchette" Robert Bresson ,1967
"Jagdzenen Aus Niederbayern " Peter Fleischmann,1968
