Toni
Directed by Jean Renoir
Written by Jean Renoir from material compiled by Jacques Levert
1935/France
Les Films Marcel Pagnol
IMDb page
First viewing/Criterion Channel
Narrator: (First lines)The action takes place in the south of France, a Latin region where, destroying the spirit of Babel, nature knows full well how to achieve the fusion of the races.
This is a well-made and acted film but I expected something more from Renoir.
As the film begins we see immigrants from many European nations arriving in France to seek work. Our hero is Antonio “Toni” Canova an Italian. He seeks lodging at a boarding house and soon is having an affair with its French proprietress Marie. He gets work in the local rock quarry. Time passes and Toni tires of the extremely jealous and possessive Marie. He has fallen in love with Josefa who lives with her Spanish peasant father and her scheming cousin. Finally, Toni decides to ask Josefa to marry him. Her father approves. But Toni’s horrible foreman gets in first. The father thinks a marriage with Albert will be financially advantageous. But as time passes it becomes clear that the only advantage will be to Albert. None of this is going to end well. As the film ends, another large group of foreigners enters France looking for work.
Wow, I had not expected anything so tragic! Everything about the film making and cinematography is great. I thought it would be another exploration of the brotherhood of workers. Given the number of truly evil people in this I came out only with the message that life sucks. It was one Renoir that I had never seen before and for that alone it was worth watching.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvMyEZnSuyU
Clip – Spoiler
