michaelt-culligan

There is an element of risk in reviewing this, in that I can't be 100% certain that this is the version I saw. Certainly, it was on television and in mono! From memory, however, it was a well-acted, gently humorous drawing-room comedy despite what was possibly regarded as a slightly risqué subject at the time. The humour will, I am sure, have dated quite badly although it would be interesting to see again if only to recall some of the attitudes and mores that would seem so strange today – such as the confidence of one of the lady's suitors assertion that his English birth makes him the only possible candidate because "She'll hardly marry a foreigner, will she?"

A slightly unusual role for Gérard Depardieu in that he plays Paul, an energetic and successful young lawyer. Among his clients is Pervillard (Bernard Fresson) a rich and powerful company president, and it's while he's working for him that Paul meets a young lady, Sacha (Nathalie Baye) who Pervillard has fired for not cooperating with his sexual advances.

Even though he is married, Paul falls heavily for Sacha and risks his career by making her case public and the two of them begin an affair. When Paul's wife becomes aware of what is happening, the sparks begin to fly.

Like so many French movies, this is carefully paced rather than hurtling towards a conclusion; it needs to be savoured in order to be properly enjoyed. But, when the leading actors are as able as these four, it is more than worthwhile.

Was it the early Seventies when the world was first made aware of the potentially devastating environmental disaster that civilisation was spiralling towards? Certainly, when you place this 1972 movie alongside the lyrics of Joni Mitchell's 'Big Yellow Taxi,' there is a case to be made for it being the time when "They paved paradise and put up a parking lot." The movie has a lot going for it. To begin with, there's a performance from Bruce Dern that is worthy of comparison with Gene Hackman's Oscar-winning performance that year in a way the other nominees simply were not. He provides a passionate and intelligent performance in which he is hardly ever off-screen and makes the viewer share his anger at the treatment of his mission. Then, too, there is the rarity of a science-fiction film which does not attempt to overwhelm the viewer with unnecessary special effects – one in which the drama is driven by the character and the scarily believable story. If you are looking for a film about environmental concern that works on every level, then forget about Al Gore's worthy but dull contribution and watch this beautifully-realised film. Then watch it again... and again. It really is that good!