French Film Festival 2013: Marius

Film Review by Nathanael Smith | 18 Nov 2013
Film title: Marius
Director: Daniel Auteuil
Starring: Daniel Auteuil, Raphael Personnaz, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Victoire Belezy, Marie-Anne Chazel
Release date: 6 Dec
Certificate: 12A

Daniel Auteuil continues to establish his position as the world’s biggest fan of Marcel Pagnol by remaking Alexander Korda’s 1931 adaptation of the writer’s play. After his directorial debut, The Well-Digger’s Daughter, and two of his most famous films, Jean de Florette and Manon des Sources, Auteuil now displays a comfortable affinity with the rustic charm and melodrama of Pagnol’s Provençal persuasions. Whether anyone else is quite as enthusiastic about more adaptations of his work, however, is open to question.

There’s a lot to enjoy about Marius (the first part of a trilogy), not least of which is director Auteuil in fine form in front of the camera. The cast on the whole are strong, selling a rather trite story with some joyously over-the-top performances; nothing is said, only shouted or whispered. There’s a certain appeal, too, to the noticeably set-bound aesthetic, but, with grimy French faces and faded colours, at times this feels like an extended advert for Stella Artois. Charming, but slight. [Nathanael Smith]

Marius plays this week as part of the French Film Festival: at London Ciné Lumière, 6.15pm, 18 Nov; at Filmhouse, 6.15pm, 19 Nov; at Glasgow Film Theatre, 20 Nov, 6pm.

Released nationwide by Pathé 6 Dec

http://www.pathe.co.uk