After starting with his debut Paris-Cinema (1929-also reviewed) I decided to finish my run of Pierre Chenal viewings,by meeting Mathias Pascal.
View on the film:
Teaming up again after Crime and Punishment (1935-also reviewed) Pierre Blanchar gives a delightful performance as Pascal, with the cold shock he is hit with from witnessing his own funeral, being twisted by Blanchar into a devilish cad charm played from Pascal underhanded deals to build himself a new identity.
Working again with cinematographer Joseph-Louis Mundwiller, co-writer/(with Christian Stengel/Armand Salacrou & Roger Vitrac) directing auteur Pierre Chenal builds upon the theme of a person cutting themselves off from the outside world which runs across his credits, with a stylish gaze into Pascal's abyss, via moving from behind a gravestone towards a tracking shot following Pascal's own procession.
While continuing to dig into the Noir loner becoming increasingly detached from society that runs across his Chenal's credits, here Chenal and the other writers adapt Luigi Pirandello's play with a more humorous tone, from what Pascal discovers his partner has been up to since he "died",to cunningly attempting to blend in and rub shoulders with the rich,by transforming himself from Mathias Pascal into Adrien Meis.
View on the film:
Teaming up again after Crime and Punishment (1935-also reviewed) Pierre Blanchar gives a delightful performance as Pascal, with the cold shock he is hit with from witnessing his own funeral, being twisted by Blanchar into a devilish cad charm played from Pascal underhanded deals to build himself a new identity.
Working again with cinematographer Joseph-Louis Mundwiller, co-writer/(with Christian Stengel/Armand Salacrou & Roger Vitrac) directing auteur Pierre Chenal builds upon the theme of a person cutting themselves off from the outside world which runs across his credits, with a stylish gaze into Pascal's abyss, via moving from behind a gravestone towards a tracking shot following Pascal's own procession.
While continuing to dig into the Noir loner becoming increasingly detached from society that runs across his Chenal's credits, here Chenal and the other writers adapt Luigi Pirandello's play with a more humorous tone, from what Pascal discovers his partner has been up to since he "died",to cunningly attempting to blend in and rub shoulders with the rich,by transforming himself from Mathias Pascal into Adrien Meis.