Summary
Emile Clément is a middle-aged film-maker in 1920s Paris, with more than an eye
for the ladies. His younger friend and employee, Jacques, is having less success
with women, so Emile offers him some useful advice. One evening, Emile is accosted
by a young woman, Madeleine, who has just arrived in Paris with the intention of meeting
the film-maker, who was formerly one of her mother’s young loves. Uncomfortable
with the meeting, Emile reluctantly agrees to put Madeleine up in his home. Within
a short while, Emile falls in love with Madeleine.
However, unknown to Emile, Jacques manages to win Madeleine’s affections, by making good
use of Emile’s friendly advice. Jacques and Madeleine quickly fall in love, but,
all too soon, Jacques discovers that he has been courting his employer’s sweetheart.
When he learns the news, Emile is far from pleased. Should he surrender Madeleine
to Jacques or force her to marry him?
Review
The film that marked René Clair’s long-awaited return to French cinema after his
brief "exile" in the United States, Le silence est d’or is widely regarded as one
of his best works, and probably his most touching. The conflict between the
stirrings of the heart and the constraints of loyalty, the age-old dilemma of love versus
friendship, is a theme which Clair tackles competently in a film that is ceaselessly entertaining.
The film benefits from a very good script, with some genuinely funny lines, some commendable
acting performances, and some excellent sets. The shots of Paris in the 1920s are
so detailed, so convincing that, having seen films of this period, one could easily imagine
that the film had been made during that era. There are some great comic situations,
with a few moments of farce. Fortunately, the comedy is kept under control, so that
it adds to the mood of the film without harming the integrity of the central plot, the
tragic love triange between Emile, Jacques and Madeleine.
The film’s star, Maurice Chevalier, is on fine form and shows what a great acting talent
the man was, an aspect of his career that is often sadly overshadowed by his legendary
status as one of France’s greatest cabaret singers. Whilst it is largely a
comic performance, Chevalier manages to bring a touch of sadness and humanity to the part
which, in the last few minutes of the film, is genuinely moving.
© James Travers 2000
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