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May 12, 2008
"Le bon dieu sans confession" : learning curve. (1/8)
Fifteen years have gone by between « Fric-Frac » and « Le bon dieu sans confession ». Between 1938 and 1953, much has changed.
In « Fric-Frac » titles, Claude Autant-Lara was only credited as « superviseur technique » ; cinema reference books have since elevated him to co-director’s status, with Maurice Lehmann.
In 1953, Claude Autant-Lara has graduated to solo-directing, he is among France in-demand filmmakers.
From « Fric-Frac » to « Le bon dieu sans confession », Claude Autant-Lara has been on a learning curve. Cinema too.
As talking movies became the norm in the early thirties, a new art of filmmaking had to be developed. By 1953, it has fully matured.
In 1938, « Fric-Frac » straightforwardly adapted a play. The original material came fully ready with dialogues. A few outdoor scenes were added to reduce the « canned theatre » feel.
In 1953, « Le bon dieu sans confession » adapts a novel. Cinema techniques have improved a lot, technology- but also storytelling-wise.
Lighter and more reliable sound equipment have let talking films regain the shooting freedom of silent movies : actors no longer have to stay put by the microphones, there is no excuse left for « canned theatre ».
In « Le geste et la parole », anthropologist André Leroi-Gourhan argued the standing position led to the invention of speech by freeing our ancestors’ hands. Cinema technological improvements similarly authorised more sophisticated storytelling.
Claude Autant-Lara did more than direct « Le bon dieu sans confession ». With Ghislaine Auboin, his wife, and Roland Laudenbach, he is one of the three writers credited for the adaptation of the original novel and the film dialogues.
« Le bon dieu sans confession » tells its story skilfully and stylishly : we are at the peak of « qualité française ».
Short of reading the book, impossible to say if the three writers deserve to be praised for their adaptation.
Maybe the original novel was as good or better than their script, maybe it was mediocre enough not to rein in the writers’ talent and inspire a real adaptation rather than a run-of-the-mill transfer to the screen.
« Le bon dieu sans confession » is structured like a jigsaw. Even coming after « Citizen Kane » and « Rashomon », the film, telling its story in bits under various perspectives, no doubt struck its 1953 French audience as innovative.
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