Big leap for René Féret : natural depiction of French countryside ! ! ! !

La Communion Solennelle (1977) directed by René Féret

Three year after the critical success of his first film "L'histoire de Paul",René Féret took a big leap with his second film "La communion solennelle" made in 1977.It was a vast panorama for him as he moved from the cloistered confines of a mental house to open air fun and frolic of French countryside.It was also his first encounter with a multitude of talented actors,most of whom were discovered due to this film.If La communion solemnelle is to be remembered,it is for featuring a fortuitous display of a whole gamut of human emotions.It can be claimed that watching the film's protagonists making merry,enjoy and fight with each other,we also feel as if we too have become an integral part of their sentiments.If there is a parallel which can be drawn to compare this film,it will surely concern equating it with French classic film "Rules of the Game" directed by Jean Renoir.This is because like Renoir's classic,this film too has its own inimitable share of eccentricities of its characters.If you are aware of greatness of French culture,you must watch this film as it has traces of Zola,Maupassant and Claude Renoir.

A light hearted film made under tough times.

Le Voyage d'Amélie (1974) directed by Daniel Duval.

These days it is very difficult to catch a glipmse of light hearted comedy films like this one. The reason is simple. There is hardly any public attached to Cinephilia. The best places to watch such a film are cinematheques and film festivals. "Le voyage d'Amélie"(Amélie's journey)was restored under the leadership of Mr.Eric Leroy of CNC, Bois d'Arcy. A new restored print of this film was shown on Monday, 23/01/2006 at Vincennes, Paris. It was the opening film of the Rencontres Internationales du Cinéma de Vincennes 2006.I was fortunate enough to watch this film in the estimable company of Messieurs Abbas Kiarostami (who was awarded Henri Langlois prize) and Daniel Duval at a community hall located in Vincennes, Paris. There are some nice things to watch in "Amerlie's journey". They include how young people are happy if they are able to live peacefully with old people. This film is also a road movie albeit a different one as it depicts how people under trouble are able to overcome their miseries when they get in touch with decent people. It is sad no DVD label has come forward to make this little gem available for the ever growing DVD market. In the years to come this film will be remembered as a good directorial début of the famous French actor Daniel Duval.