And while I was roaming around the Criterion Channel's French New Wave collection, I decided to watch Jacques Demy's Bay of Angels, his second film and the one before his wildly popular The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. I liked Bay of Angels, but didn't love it. It featured some fine performances, with Jeanne Moreau and Claude Mann playing two gamblers, Jackie and Jean, whose lives are being destroyed by their growing addiction. Jackie (Moreau) is a long-time gambler, with lots of stories about the times when she was broke and how she reverted to stealing and conniving to get another stake. Jean is a young man who has just started gambling, and his (eroding) common sense is all that keeps them going. There is an absurd happy ending. I want to think that Demy was just being ironic, but it doesn't play that way. I'd recommend it. It pales in comparison to The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, although that's hardly a stinging critique.
No comments:
Post a Comment