Film review: 'Lucie Aubrac'
"Lucie Aubrac" is an uninspired biopic based on the autobiography of the wife of a French resistance fighter who risked it all to get her husband out of jail.
Director-producer-writer Claude Berri's ("Jean de Florette", "Manon des Sources") excellence when it comes to production values lends this film an international feasibility, but despite the sexy subject -- strong woman vs. Nazis -- this film has few chances theatrically outside of France. It will have more chances on TV, especially with audiences interested in history.
Although this story is probably meant to be about the courage of one woman pitted against incredible odds, it only comes across as a limp affirmation of conventional cliches -- the French are courageous, the Nazis are bad and a good woman can do anything when she does it for her man.
Raymond Aubrac (Daniel Auteuil) is a French resistance fighter who, much too far into the movie, gets caught by the German occupational forces. Lucie (Carole Bouquet) is his perfect wife. She is the mother of one child with another on the way and is employed as a teacher. She's happy, intelligent, liberated and beautiful -- in short, everything Raymond could want. In fact, their happy home life seems idyllic despite the war.
When Raymond is picked up, her life doesn't change because he's arrested under a false name and no one suspects her of being connected to him. She is able to approach the authorities under yet another name and convince them to arrange a meeting with Raymond. After the meeting, the resistance liberates Raymond during transport back to the prison and the happy family moves to London. End film.
Bouquet is grimly determined as Lucie but is never desperate or interesting enough to seem emotionally driven or to get the audience involved. Auteuil is too soft-faced for the resistance and too bland for us to want him to get out of jail.
Come to think of it, it's so easy to fool the Nazis, they don't seem that much of a threat in the first place.
The story is at least broadly true, and France during the war seems pretty enough on the big screen, but Berri cannot inject enough life into the characters or enough excitement into the struggle to liberate Raymond.
LUCIE AUBRAC
President Film
Renn Prods.
A Claude Berri film
Director Claude Berri
Writer Claude Berri
Based on the novel "Ils partiront dans l'ivresse"
by Lucie Aubrac
Producer Claude Berri
Director of photography Vincenzo Marano
Editor Herve de Luze
Music Philippe Sarde
Production design Olivier Radot
Costumes Sylvie Gautrelet, Christine Guegan
Color/stereo
Cast:
Lucie Aubrac Carole Bouquet
Raymond Aubrac Daniel Auteuil
Max Patrice Chereau
Maurice Jean-Roger Milo
Serge Eric Boucher
Barbie Heino Ferch
Runing time -- 106 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Director-producer-writer Claude Berri's ("Jean de Florette", "Manon des Sources") excellence when it comes to production values lends this film an international feasibility, but despite the sexy subject -- strong woman vs. Nazis -- this film has few chances theatrically outside of France. It will have more chances on TV, especially with audiences interested in history.
Although this story is probably meant to be about the courage of one woman pitted against incredible odds, it only comes across as a limp affirmation of conventional cliches -- the French are courageous, the Nazis are bad and a good woman can do anything when she does it for her man.
Raymond Aubrac (Daniel Auteuil) is a French resistance fighter who, much too far into the movie, gets caught by the German occupational forces. Lucie (Carole Bouquet) is his perfect wife. She is the mother of one child with another on the way and is employed as a teacher. She's happy, intelligent, liberated and beautiful -- in short, everything Raymond could want. In fact, their happy home life seems idyllic despite the war.
When Raymond is picked up, her life doesn't change because he's arrested under a false name and no one suspects her of being connected to him. She is able to approach the authorities under yet another name and convince them to arrange a meeting with Raymond. After the meeting, the resistance liberates Raymond during transport back to the prison and the happy family moves to London. End film.
Bouquet is grimly determined as Lucie but is never desperate or interesting enough to seem emotionally driven or to get the audience involved. Auteuil is too soft-faced for the resistance and too bland for us to want him to get out of jail.
Come to think of it, it's so easy to fool the Nazis, they don't seem that much of a threat in the first place.
The story is at least broadly true, and France during the war seems pretty enough on the big screen, but Berri cannot inject enough life into the characters or enough excitement into the struggle to liberate Raymond.
LUCIE AUBRAC
President Film
Renn Prods.
A Claude Berri film
Director Claude Berri
Writer Claude Berri
Based on the novel "Ils partiront dans l'ivresse"
by Lucie Aubrac
Producer Claude Berri
Director of photography Vincenzo Marano
Editor Herve de Luze
Music Philippe Sarde
Production design Olivier Radot
Costumes Sylvie Gautrelet, Christine Guegan
Color/stereo
Cast:
Lucie Aubrac Carole Bouquet
Raymond Aubrac Daniel Auteuil
Max Patrice Chereau
Maurice Jean-Roger Milo
Serge Eric Boucher
Barbie Heino Ferch
Runing time -- 106 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 2/24/1997
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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