For me at least this is a chance to get a glimpse of the Great Arletty in a strictly bread-and-butter movie, possibly the French equivalent of the quota quickie, ephemera whose only purpose was to fill the cinemas for a week or so and then be consigned to the vaults. Chronologically it came smack-dab in the middle of the four Classics she made for Marcel Carne', two pre-war (Hotel du Nord, Le Jour se leve) and two shot in the war itself (Les Visiteurs du soir, Les Enfants du paradis), though Les Enfants was actually released just after the war, the last three written by Jacques Prevert who was unavailable for Hotel du Nord though pinch-hitters Jean Aurenche and Henri Jeanson did very nicely thank you in his absence. I may be easy to please but I liked this confection which showcased Arletty as a vedette of the Music Hall wearing glamorous outfits and performing stock conjuring tricks whilst not averse to throwing in a little singing (Je crois que c'est arrive) on the side. Naturally she has her admirers and one of them, milquetoast bookseller Jean Tissier (in one of eight films he made in 1942) tests high on self-awareness and figures he stands more of a chance if he does a little work on his image. Accordingly he snaps up any and every piece of exotica he can lay his hands on and transforms a friends apartment into a prototype Theme Park whilst putting himself away as an intrepid explorer who knows Borneo like the back of his Place Vendome. This goes down well with Arletty but lest things go too well she lets it be known that she would love nothing more than to take a trip to Borneo so long as this big, strong man is there to protect her. Before being too harsh with this we should try to remember that it was produced in occupied France and was intended solely as a diversion in wartime. On those terms it succeeds admirably.
2 Reviews
Mindborne to Borneo
dbdumonteil9 July 2006
In its first decade of talkies,French screenplays were often plays.Some of the best directors did it that way:Sacha Guitry and Marcel Pagnol are the first names that come to mind.
When the play was good,funny,the "filmed stage production" was often worthwhile: Lehmann/Autant-Lara's "Fric Frac" (feat .Arletty,Fernandel and Michel Simon) or Roger Richebé's hilarious "Madame Sans-Gene" (Arletty again)were gems.
"L'amant de Borneo" was not a very good material.The first part drags on and on.The music hall sequence ,notably ,is much too long :it displays Arletty's talents as a dancer,singer and... conjurer.Actually her song ("Je Crois que C'est Arrivé" = "I guess it happened") would have been enough.The scenes in the wings are boring as well ,as men pay court to the star,Stella Losange.One of them,Lucien,(Jean Tissier) is a bookseller.He knows he does not stand a chance.So he pretends he is a globe-trotter ,a raider ,some kind of Indiana Jones...And things get a little better.
He takes up residence in a friend's house which he completely transforms into an exotic mansion ,complete with statuettes,curare arrows,bears (the bear 's name is "Barometer"),monkeys,snakes (sold by the meter) ,trinkets bought in a dime store... He invites Stella and treats her to a delicious meal including caterpillars.Stella is proud of her lover from Borneo (hence the title)..But she would like to share his dangerous life ,to travel all around the world...There's the rub.
It's funny -in places- but it's often ponderous and silly.Lines are occasionally witty,but it is a far cry from Henri Jeanson's work! "L'amant de Borneo" should be reserved for Arletty's fans only.Anyway,for her,greater glories were shortly to follow ("les Visiteurs du Soir" and "les Enfants du Paradis")
When the play was good,funny,the "filmed stage production" was often worthwhile: Lehmann/Autant-Lara's "Fric Frac" (feat .Arletty,Fernandel and Michel Simon) or Roger Richebé's hilarious "Madame Sans-Gene" (Arletty again)were gems.
"L'amant de Borneo" was not a very good material.The first part drags on and on.The music hall sequence ,notably ,is much too long :it displays Arletty's talents as a dancer,singer and... conjurer.Actually her song ("Je Crois que C'est Arrivé" = "I guess it happened") would have been enough.The scenes in the wings are boring as well ,as men pay court to the star,Stella Losange.One of them,Lucien,(Jean Tissier) is a bookseller.He knows he does not stand a chance.So he pretends he is a globe-trotter ,a raider ,some kind of Indiana Jones...And things get a little better.
He takes up residence in a friend's house which he completely transforms into an exotic mansion ,complete with statuettes,curare arrows,bears (the bear 's name is "Barometer"),monkeys,snakes (sold by the meter) ,trinkets bought in a dime store... He invites Stella and treats her to a delicious meal including caterpillars.Stella is proud of her lover from Borneo (hence the title)..But she would like to share his dangerous life ,to travel all around the world...There's the rub.
It's funny -in places- but it's often ponderous and silly.Lines are occasionally witty,but it is a far cry from Henri Jeanson's work! "L'amant de Borneo" should be reserved for Arletty's fans only.Anyway,for her,greater glories were shortly to follow ("les Visiteurs du Soir" and "les Enfants du Paradis")
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