December
2002
War
is the backdrop again in December
By
Dan Dodson
The
Trenton Library's war-movie series continues in December. This
month's films look at "normal" home life during wartime,
from two perspectives.
The
schedule includes: "The Accompanist" (French)
on December 5 and "Mrs. Miniver" on December
19. Both dates are Thursdays with show times at 6:30 p.m. If you
have gas rations to get there, you can park your roadster in the
library's side parking lot.
The
Accompanist plays along with the enemy
Sophie
is a shy but talented girl living in the poverty of wartime Paris.
She's hired as an accompanist by Irene Brice, a wealthy opera
singer, whose husband, Charles, is a Nazi collaborator. Sophie
moves in with the Brices and shares their life and journey from
Parisian luxury to London ruin.
Irene is a true prima donna who wants Sophie (Romane Bohringer)
not only to play the piano, but also to be her silent alter ego.
Sophie is initially enamored with Irene but becomes disillusioned
with her affairs and top-line billing. Charles (Richard Bohringer)
loves Irene but owes his business success to her fame and outwardly
tolerates her indiscretions. This odd threesome becomes a "family"
that goes along with the flow of Nazi occupation until Charles
has a moment of conscience and decides to face the reality of
war.
French
director Claude Miller weaves a story of emotional dependencies
that's as complicated as war-time Paris. Irene loves Charles,
loves Jacques (the other man), and needs Sophie. Sophie resents
her mother, worships Irene as a mother figure, hates Irene because
she's beautiful and loves Charles as the father she never had.
Charles tolerates the Germans, loves his country and can't live
without Irene. Tragedy befalls these precarious relationships
much as France found tragedy in its relationship with Germany.
"The
Accompanist" is made with cinematic skill and top French
actors, including father and daughter Bohringer. It's typical
of French films that create a compelling personal reality that
absorbs the viewer.
Mrs.
Miniver faces the war with pluck
Years
after "Mrs. Miniver" won six Oscars in 1942 for
depicting an "upper-middle class" British family's struggle
with the war, some critics have called it dated. I beg to differ
and am happy to report that the movie is as uplifting and important
as ever.
Mrs.
Miniver (Greer Garson) is a mother and neighbor so well liked
that the local station master names his prize rose after her.
Clem Miniver (Walter Pidgeon) is the perfect husband. The children
are perfect, the house is perfect and even the maid is perfect.
However,
a scandal brews in the Minivers' quiet village when the station
master dares to enter his "Miniver" rose in a competition
that the town matron, Lady Beldon, always wins. The rose competition
pits upper, middle and lower classes against each other in a soap-opera
drama. It plays out against the backdrop of a war that invades
everyone's life. A German soldier terrorizes the village, the
village men undertake a dangerous rescue mission and the Minivers'
house is bombed. Suddenly, class distinctions that had seemed
so important dissolve into a community unified by a common overwhelming
goal.
Mrs.
Miniver portrays the breakdown of Britain's class structure
as a positive result of World War II. As a propaganda film, it
shows a plucky family bravely and cheerfully facing the worst
that war can bring. For these reasons, Mrs. Miniver is
still relevant when it reminds us to face the war on terror with
our chins up and our noses down.
###
Dan
Dodson reviews new releases at www.livingonthenet.com
