Enchanting, grande, magical, unpretentious, cozily sentimental -- I almost can't form complete sentences when remembering this film -- romantic, special. Baptiste (Jean-Louis Barrault) is incredible, Garance (Arletty) is very special. And the whole film, likewise.
That doesn't mean it's without possible flaws, but I keep changing my mind about whether they are flaws, or not -- they keep me pondering, each time I see it (...which has been at least 19 times).
It deserves to be seen in a theatre with a relatively "new" print, if possible -- the commercial prints aren't renewed often enough, so that theatres show defective prints, with too many blurs, skips, and even deleted parts of scenes -- enough to walk out on. It's also available on Tape/DVD, but the small screen does not do it justice, you lose the sweep of it, and the intimacy of the details.
That doesn't mean it's without possible flaws, but I keep changing my mind about whether they are flaws, or not -- they keep me pondering, each time I see it (...which has been at least 19 times).
It deserves to be seen in a theatre with a relatively "new" print, if possible -- the commercial prints aren't renewed often enough, so that theatres show defective prints, with too many blurs, skips, and even deleted parts of scenes -- enough to walk out on. It's also available on Tape/DVD, but the small screen does not do it justice, you lose the sweep of it, and the intimacy of the details.