It is the story of an older man who lives with his niece in a small town in france that is occupied by the germans in 1940. It was melvilles first feature film, and was based on the 1942 book of the same name by jean bruller published clandestinely under the pen name vercors. An english language adaptation called the silence of the sea was transmitted by the bbc tv service on 7 june 1946 as part of their first evenings programming following the resumption of tv broadcasting after the end of world war ii. Clandestinely written in 1942 during the nazi occupation of france and furtively distributed, it captured the spirit of the moment, and quickly became a staple of the resistance. Despite this setback melville set out to make the film anyway, another problem that beset him was that he had no cinematic training and in the highly regulated and.
Feb 04, 2012 a hero of the french new wave for his independence from the mainstream french film industry. The kind where you can hear a pin drop if you listen closely enough. Also this moc dvd has an excellent transfer, and the extras are really interesting with jeanette vincendeau introducing melville as a film maker. Worldwide english title informal literal title the silence of the sea. Clandestinely written in 1942 during the nazi occupation of france and furtively distributed, it captured the spirit of the moment, and quickly became a staple of. The uncle and niece refuse to speak to him, but each evening the officer warms himself by the fire and talks of his country, his music, and his idealistic views of the relationship between france and germany. The silence of the sea is a 1949 film by jeanpierre melville. Most of the film is confined to the living room of a bourgeois french family.
A hero of the french new wave for his independence from the mainstream french film industry. The silence is not just of the sea but also in the filmic technique which symbolizes its theme. The uncle and niece refuse to speak to him, but each evening the officer warms himself by the fire and talks of his country, his music, and his idealistic views of the relationship between france. Against the will of its elderly male and his adult niece residents, the nazis commandeer a house for one of their officers, lt. The metaphorical tact of the title is representative of the work. When jeanpierre melville released his first movie, he was 32 years old, a veteran of the french resistance, and had never had any formal training in film making. The vast majority of the film is either narration directly out of the book on which the film was adapted, or howard vernon delivering hauntingly beautiful monologues.
Vernons performance is flawless and never fails to draw you in. The views of occupied paris bring a verite quality to what is fictional piece. As a figurative and literal silent protest against the nazis and the. Id like to recommend an old book, forgotten by many, that was secretly published in france in 1942. Winners best picture winners golden globes emmys san diego comiccon new york comiccon sundance film festival toronto intl film festival awards central festival central all events.
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