Boulevard du Rhum (1971)

An adventurous comedy that paired Lino Ventura with Brigitte Bardot. That combination of the brawler and the vixen was quite well conceived, and with Prohibition in the States in the background and a cleverly thought-out title, there was certainly something to be done with it.

And at times it does come across, certainly in the first hour where the script hits quite right with atmospheric, likeable, and cheerful scenes.

Ventura does a good job as both a lucky and an unlucky one, and it is impossible to be angry with sweet Brigitte.

After that, I find the film drags on for too long, with a lot more being dragged in that offers no added value.

Not a masterpiece, but still plenty of fun, especially for those sufficiently familiar with both our heroes, and Guy Marchand, as a crooner from the twenties, fits his role well too.

Translated from Dutch · View original

BB #44

I have never exactly been a fan of Lino Ventura, and this time, too, I am not blown away by his role. Too much of the usual stale stuff, too much repetition. With BB, it is comparable in itself; she doesn't do much differently than in most of her films either. It is largely the innocent, spontaneous girl she plays here again. Apparently, I am receptive to that.

The English guys are funny—admittedly hugely unbelievable—but that doesn't really matter when you have Joe Turner and his band on board. It would have been better if they had left the music to him; BB sings quite well, but that song does nothing for me.

In terms of the story, it doesn't really get funny, just like in most comedies BB stars in. It has to come more from the situations that were apparently funny at the time, but too often that doesn't really come across. Perhaps a bit overtaken by time.

The NYT had a rather interesting opinion about the film - "the death of a star [...] and the birth of an actress: Brigitte Bardot". Apparently they had missed Le Mépris and À Coeur Joie, La Vérité. Or even L'Ours et la Poupée. And all those countless roles in which BB plays the same as in this farcical, unpleasant comedy.

Translated from Dutch · View original