Le Silence de la Mer (1949)
Genre: Drama / War
Duration: 87 minuten
Alternative title: The Silence of the Sea
Country:
France
Directed by: Jean-Pierre Melville
Stars: Howard Vernon, Nicole Stéphane and Jean-Marie Robain
IMDb score:
7,6 (6.155)
Releasedate: 22 April 1949
Le Silence de la Mer plot
The German officer Werner von Ebrennac is stationed in an occupied French town in 1941. He lives in the house of a man and his niece, who see him above all as a despicable man. Von Ebrennac tells passionately about life, philosophy, music and his vision of the relationship between Germany and France. Until, however, he visits Paris and sees what is really going on...
Actors and actresses
Werner von Ebrennac
La Nièce
L'Oncle
La Fiancée
L'Ordonnance
L'Ami
L'Allemand
L'Allemand
L'Allemand
L'Allemand
Reviews & comments
arno74
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- 8700 messages
- 3342 votes
I have also seen this version, cinematographically this is a very nice one. However, I prefer the version from 2004, for several reasons. In this version from 1949, a voice-over is used to convey the emotions of the residents, while in the version from 2004 this is done much more by means of facial expressions, without a voice-over. Also, the time is better divided over the roles there and the grandpa, niece and officer get a voice of about the same weight in the film, in contrast to here where it mainly revolves around the grandpa and the officer. The unspoken tension and chemistry between the niece and the officer bursts from the screen there, while here it is all told by the voice-over. The niece, who is only silent here, is also a lot more outspoken in that film when the officer is not present, and plays a much more important role.
The story of that film also progresses differently, and also ends differently. Both films are a film adaptation of the short story that was illegally distributed under the pseudonym Vercors during the occupation in 1941. In this version, quite a bit of attention is paid to the officer's journey to Paris, while in the 2004 version it is his friends who visit him without him travelling to Paris. What is done in the 2004 version is that in addition to Le Silence de la Mer, Ce jour-là, by the same writer and from the same period, is also filmed. Both stories run together and that is an enrichment compared to this version.
I suspect most viewers of this 1949 version did so for Melville or Vernon, but for those who are mainly interested in the content, I can only recommend the 2004 version. 3.5* for this one, and 4.5* for the 2004 version.
Translated from Dutch · View original
BBarbie
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- 12893 messages
- 7675 votes
I was made aware of this film after seeing Suite Française (2014). A film about indoctrination, awareness and passive resistance. This debut by Jean-Pierre Melville deviates considerably from the films with which he later became known. An atmospheric film, thanks to the play with light and dark, the close-ups and the clever alternation between a monologue with silence and a voice-over. Little happens and yet the tension is palpable.
It is remarkable that the story on which the film is based was published during the German occupation.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Bobbejaantje
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- 2301 messages
- 2092 votes
Melville's debut and what an entrance. The film adaptation of a work that had been published clandestinely during the war only a few years earlier. I was not familiar with the book but it is apparently a classic. And I understand why after seeing the film. In all its simplicity it also shows itself as a story with complex layers and relationships between characters who stand for something. Even though some of them remain silent throughout the film. In fact, it almost comes down to a monologue by Howard Vernon as the German guest in the house of uncle Jean-Marie Robain (the narrator/voice over). And yet I was captivated for an hour and a half by this psychological shadow play (also to be taken literally with some expressionistically presented scenes). During this production Melville also colored outside the lines with recordings in public spaces for which he had no permission (parading with an actor in a Nazi uniform in Paris three years after the end of the world war). A film to cherish and re-watch. It reminds me of the great Russian psychological novels à la Dostoevsky.
Translated from Dutch · View original
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