Rediscovered this unique, delicately charming classic on TCM this morning. The first time wed seen it in years, and it holds up beautifully. To merge honest sentiment, Gallic flavor and post-WWII cynicism without overdoing any of those elements is no mean feat, but director Charles Walters managed it and then some -- arguably his masterwork, particularly in the high degree of visual storytelling rather than verbal narrative -- for which Helen Deutschs economical screenplay and Bronislau Kapers iconic score share credit -- with the results being as unfussy, eloquent and clear-cut as the best silent films. If Mel Ferrer was ever better on screen, we missed it; Jean Pierre Aumont, Kurt Kasznar and Zsa Zsa Gabor are enormously effective; the puppets are adorable; and, in the title role, Leslie Caron defines enchanting, running the gamut of emotions across the board, at that, from entirely within and, in the dream dance sequences, through physicality -- her Oscar nomination was well-deserved. Have never been able to watch the last 15 minutes without waterworks since age 4, and so it proved again. Heck, am tearing up just writing about it. Timeless, seamless and faultless. A song of love is a sad song....
Posted on: Sun, 18 Jan 2015 21:49:00 +0000
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