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Credits
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Summary
The setting is the Belville district of Paris in 1904. At a riverside
open-air dance, a carpenter, Georges Manda meets and becomes enchanted
by an attractive young woman, Marie, known as Casque d’Or because of her
beautiful blonde hair. Annoyed with her husband’s brutality towards
her, Marie flirts with Manda and the two discover a mutual attraction.
Marie’s husband, furious, challenges Manda to a duel one night. Manda
manages to kill the husband and flees with Marie to the countryside.
One of Marie’s former lovers, Leca, betrays Manda to the police and has
Manda’s closest friend arrested. To clear his friend, Manda surrenders
himself to the police. Learning of Leca’s treachery, Manda resolves
to have his revenge, even if it means losing his beloved Casque d’Or...Review
Arguably Jacques Becker’s best and most famous film, Casque d’Or illustrates
perhaps more than any of his films his unique conception of film-making.
Becquer’s main preoccupation is to capture through the medium of film the essence of human life – the pleasures, the torments, the triumphs, the defeats – without relying on traditional theatrical or cinematographic devices. This is most apparent in the initial meeting between Manda and Marie, where hardly any words are exchanged but it is clear, from the body language of the two characters, beautifully photographed, that the two people are instantly attracted to one another. Indeed, so effective is the photography and so powerful are the acting performances that Casque d’Or would have succeeded even if all of the dialogue had been cut. What dialogue there is serves simply to reinforce what is being captured on film. Becker’s Paris of the early 1900s is in stark contrast to that of other film directors of the 1950s (most notably Renoir in French Cancan) – and indeed contrasts vividly with Becker’s own chocolate-box version in his later film, Les aventures d’Arsène Lupin. In Casque d’Or we are treated to a multi-layered, almost schizophrenic, view of the city. There is the traditional view of Paris at the time of the Belle Epoch, swaying to the tune of dance hall music and accordians, where lovers dance in each others arms under flickering gas lights. But, beneath this comforting exterior, there lurks a darker, more menacing city, where duels to the death are enacted in back streets, where crimes of passion are committed in darkened shadows, where convicted criminals are escorted to the gallows by police. Becker’s Paris is the perfect setting for a tragic love story and the realism it affords heightens the emotional impact by several degrees. It is not possible to write a review of Casque d’Or without reference to its central star, the incredible Simone Signoret. In this film, the legendary French actress is at her most beautiful and engaging, and she fits the part of Marie so well that it is difficult to believe that the role was not conceived with her in mind. Signoret works perfectly with Becquer’s agenda - a minimalist performance which delivers the maximum impact through a combination of facial expression, gestures, and restrained dialogue. Simone Signoret lights up every scene she enters, no matter how grim, like an angel of deliverence. The final shot at the end of the film when she is compelled to witness her lover’s fate is one of the most tragic and moving in cinema history. © James Travers 2000 |
 
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