Claude Chabrol’s Le beau Serge is generally given the distinction as the first film of the French New Wave, films directed by the group of Cahiers de Cinéma critics who were disillusioned with traditional French films and wanted something fresher and more representative of youthful filmgoers showing up at local cinemas. While Le beau Serge doesn’t have the instantly obvious New Wave film tricks that Godard, for instance, instituted into his film Breathless, the movie nevertheless mixes traditional cinematic technique with influences from Italian neorealism in bringing its story to the screen.
Le beau Serge (Blu-ray)
Directed by Claude Chabrol
Studio: Criterion
Year: 1958
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 1080p AVC codec
Running Time: 99 minutes
Rating: NR
Audio: PCM 1.0 French
Subtitles: English
Region: A
MSRP: $39.95
Release Date: September 20, 2011
Review Date: September 15, 2011
The Film
4/5
After an absence of twelve years, Francois Bayon (Jean-Claude Brialy) returns to his hometown Sardent in the French midlands to recuperate from a mild case of tuberculosis only to find that his closest friend from his youth Serge (Gérard Blain) has become a reckless drunk mistreating his pregnant wife Yvonne (Michele Méritz) and sleeping around with seventeen-year old Marie (Bernadette Lafont). Though most of the village welcomes him back, Francois feels guilty over his good fortune in light of the struggles of most of the townspeople to keep their heads above water and undertakes a salvage effort on Serge. Along the way, he’s likewise drawn in by the alluring Marie thus alienating Serge and Marie’s father Glomaud (Edmond Beauchamp), another town drunk with whom Serge spends much time. All of Serge’s efforts to help seem doomed to failure as he reveals truths to Glomaud which lead to even Marie discarding him.
Chabrol’s script combines a loving and detailed examination of small town French life (where everyone seems to know everyone else’s secrets) with his yin-yang relationship between Serge and Francois. The town life views are quite brilliantly staged and shot, sometimes in a romping style of play and other times more lyrical and awe-inspiring (a snowfall late in the film is captivating, especially as shot with a flashlight providing most of the luminescence). Chabrol’s script goes a little heavily wayward with all of the Christ allusions in reference to Francois (all of the drinking, smoking, and reputed whoring he has done before and what we see in this film is hardly messianic in nature though he does risk his own health in his attempts to transform Serge), and the New Wave concentration on alienation and ambiguity comes full flower as the film continues to run. The use of nonprofessionals as townspeople and the slice-of-life ordinariness that the director focuses on definitely show that a new cinematic movement was taking shape right here.
As the young do-gooder, Jean-Claude Brialy makes an appealing Francois, often sacrificing his own health to come to the aid of his close friend. Gérard Blain brings a kind of sub-Marlon Brando-esque swagger and magnetism to the role of Serge, outwardly tough and brutish and yet in quiet moments capble of showing tenderness and even sorrow. Bernadette Lafont (who was married to Blain at the time of filming) has that sexy pout and clingy possessiveness down pat while Michele Méritz makes her more quietly and nobly suffering abused wife a scene stealer despite a distinct lack of screen time compared to the other principals. (She also has the quietest birth scene in the history of movies though likely she wasn’t allowed to do any more than the quiet moaning that she does.) Edmond Beauchamp is fine as the drunken father, and Claude Cerval is equally effective as a priest who feels sterile and unappreciated in the village.
Video Quality
4.5/5
The film is framed at its theatrical aspect ratio of 1.33:1 and is presented in 1080p using the AVC codec. The grayscale is beautifully represented in this striking transfer with luscious whites and decent blacks on display. Contrast is generally well applied with only an occasional shot that seems unbalanced with what comes before or after. The transfer is also free of compression artifacts, and no scratches or damage mar the image either. The white subtitles are plain and easy to read. The film has been divided into 19 chapters.
Audio Quality
3.5/5
The PCM 1.0 (1.1 Mbps) sound mix is very much a product of its era as dialogue, music, and sound effects have all been decently combined into the single mono track. The music doesn’t have much heft to it (some dissonant flourishes which indicate something serious on screen obviously lack any low end extension) and seems rather thin. There’s some light hiss and a little muffled crackle also on hand, but it’s not tremendously distracting.
Special Features
4/5
The audio commentary is provided by Chabrol scholar Guy Austin who offers a marvelous analysis of the film with numerous references to other films of the famous director.
Claude Chabrol: Mon premier film is a 2003 documentary on Chabrol’s early life and career and focusing primarily on the production of his first feature film. Along with the celebrated writer-director, the film finds actors Jean-Claude Brialy and Bernadette Lafont returning to the town of Sardent looking at many of the same buildings that are in the film and talking with a few of the residents who were in the movie and are still living in Sardent. This 1080i feature runs for 51 ½ minutes.
An excerpt from the French television series L’invité du Dimanche in 1969 finds director Claude Chabrol returning to Sardent for the first time in a decade and talking about this movie and his follow-up Les cousins. The 1080i featurette runs 10 minutes.
The film’s theatrical trailer runs for 3 minutes in 1080p.
The enclosed 15-page booklet contains a cast and crew list, some wonderful stills from the movie, and critic Terrence Rafferty’s reflective look at the movie and other early efforts of the French New Wave in a very pleasing essay.
The Criterion Blu-rays include a maneuvering tool called “Timeline” which can be pulled up from the menu or by pushing the red button on the remote. It shows you your progress on the disc, the title of the chapter you’re now in, and index markers for the commentary that goes along with the film, all of which can be switched on the fly. Additionally, two other buttons on the remote can place or remove bookmarks if you decide to stop viewing before reaching the end of the film or want to mark specific places for later reference.
In Conclusion
4/5 (not an average)
Bridging both the traditional French cinema and the new wave of cinema to come, Claude Chabrol’s Le beau Serge shows aspects of his technique which would continue to flower for another half century. Criterion’s Blu-ray release offers excellent video, appropriate audio, and a good mix of bonus features for movie watchers curious about the initial attempts of the French New Wave. Recommended!
Matt Hough
Charlotte, NC
