26 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Becker's Brilliant Depiction of Agonizing Passion..., February 3, 2005
Eyes are the source of visual perception though which most people conceive the world and all of its wonders. A moment where two pair of eyes catch one another and there is a spark of mutual interest could lead to further emotional investment. This mutual interest is most frequently triggered through the visual experience, which catches something that fascinates the individual. The fascination rapidly releases a rush of hormones as the visual contact continues and intensifies the emotional sensation through out the whole body. Occasionally, there are physical manifestations revealed through butterflies in the stomach and uneasy feelings that could cause sweatiness and involuntary stuttering. This is a common phenomenon, which most people undergo at least once in a lifetime, known as falling in love.
The moment of falling in love can be overwhelmingly passionate, as the affected could drift into oblivion with muffled thought and reasoning. This kind of love could be damaging to the person, even painful to those near and dear. Casque d'Or opens with such a spellbinding moment where the two main characters, Marie and Manda, gaze at one another unaware of their future predicaments. The title, Casque d'Or, refers to Marie (Simone Signoret) golden hair, which serves a symbolic meaning through the hypnotic effects it appears to have on men. Manda (Serge Reggiani) seems to be under its spell, as he passionately stares at Marie.
The carpenter Georges Manda's luck, or maybe more rightfully misfortune, began when he accidentally bumped into his old jail friend, Raymond. Through Raymond's acquaintances and criminal friends he meets Marie (Simone Signoret) who currently is together with Roland (William Sabatier). Bad omens surround the initial meeting between Marie and Manda, as Marie's jealous boyfriend is ready to turn to violence in order to end to Marie's infatuation.
Roland's boss, Felix Leca (Claude Dauphin), shows his interest in the love quarrel, as he openly expresses his concern for Roland, but internally has an alternative motive to why he wants to help Roland. Felix displays his own interest to Marie and requests that she respond to him later that evening after having thought about it. In the evening Manda appears to express his love for Marie while Roland's jealousy flares out as he suggests that they should go outside to solve their mutual problem. Felix lurks in the social shadow as the two men go out in the backyard to fight for Marie, and he appears the instant before the fight in order to put his dubious plans into action.
In the 1950's most films coming out of Hollywood were heavily influenced by guidelines of what was morally acceptable to depict. This is much due to the harm that the Catholic Legion of Decency accomplished in the 1930s, as the religious organization began to influence the creative process of filmmaking through their moral stipulations. Casque d'Or does not show these stipulations as the story dwells on the nitty-gritty of a love affair amidst criminal elements in Paris. Jacques Becker's story does not glorify or bottle up the darkness in human nature. He simply illustrates the actions of a group of characters in a specific social environment during the turn of the century. It does not turn into a period film, which he also tried to avoid. Instead Becker depicts a doomed couple hoping for a better time and place, as they are aware of their difficult situation.
In a historical perspective Casque d'Or is a masterpiece. François Truffaut and other directors thought it had a tremendous effect on the French New Wave some years later. This is amusing to ponder, as the film was at first received with very little praise in France while the Brits thought it was one of the best films of the year. Today an audience can still rejoice in the triumph that the film offers to its viewers from the beginning to the end, as the end offers something much darker than expected.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An instant classic,, September 24, 2009
Not being a Becker fan *at all* I guess I can be objective. This film
is enjoyable like if it weren't a classic. Once begun, you'll want to
watch it till the end. Simone looks gorgeous here, IMDb reviewer
"pzanardo" from Padova, Italy is right when he writes that the director
seems to have filmed her specially well. By the way, have you noticed
how bad Italians fare on French period films? Thérèse Raquin (1953)
from the next year is one of a string of examples...
The Mafia aspect is so naive it's almost lovable in comparison with
nowadays'. So is the city, the police, the woman/man relationships,
class divisions... Félix Leca's character is stereotype incarnate, but
at the same time very "believable", in spite of his constant narcissism
and tics.
Trevor Willsmer on Amazon is right at why it works: we expect a
romantic period piece but during the knives fight in the beginning we
realize crime is never nice, only made to look so. Yet somehow, our
aesthetically expectations still are about something "nice", while the
plot is dark. The police seems like a pantomime, in most of the film
the State seems to be absent, and Félix the only one who does the
thinking for everybody. The romance is almost enhanced by the heavy
censorship. Nothing whatsoever is "shown" (even a kiss on the grass
turns into the sky :)) but you feel enough passion. Signoret specially
knows how to vibrate with a swagger attitude. Look at her entering a
bar, greeting everybody, self assured and always knowing how to deal
with men. Manda on the contrary, is a "too perfect hero" to be of my
liking. My favourite scene is when he's doing nothing with a branch and
she takes the initiative: "Kiss me" and then we have to watch the sky,
if not, we'll burn :).
Randy Buck on Amazon is right the film has a sort of documentary feel
totally lacking in "Gangs of New York", that Willsmer writes was
heavily influenced by this gem.
Then only moment Félix Leca looses the grip of authority is when he is
responsible of Raymond's death. Even thugs have rules... On the
contrary, when they dispose of the blonde barman who talked too much,
only the dumbest of them feels sorry for it.
It's true it's not exactly believable that a mobster would be so cautious and "Machiavellian" when he could just grab and use the lady, but, sincerely, I don't care for feasibility in this sort of films.
It's only with a twinge of nostalgia that I corroborate the swarm of
reviewers & fans this film has. I'm absolutely glad about it, as of
having watched this film.
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