Fanny

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Steve M Interesting to see how times have changed since the 60's concerning an unmarried girl who is pregnant. Also, movies were made with established stars, even though they were not the ages of their characters. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 08/29/23 Full Review Zazoo909 C "Fanny" has it all - great romance, tragedy, comedy and a happy ending rich with hope and redemption, not the cheesy Tinseltown stuff. Leslie Caron was never better. For such a fresh, young spirit, she can turn on a dime to play the wisest, most insightful soul in the crew. Brilliant. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 07/13/23 Full Review Terry S Exactly how do you spell schmaltz ?? Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 04/23/23 Full Review Daniel H Delightful in every way. Charles Boyer and Maurice Chevalier steal the show from the protagonists with some truly beautiful character acting. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 04/10/23 Full Review steve d The acting is fine but there isn't much memorable to the story. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member In one of many cases of the Academy being behind the times they elected to nominate this musical without songs featuring three actors who were most popular in previous decades for Best Picture. 1961 was not the strongest Best Picture lineup in history with disappointments like West Side Story (1961) and The Guns of Navarone (1961) being nominated and only one real classic, The Hustler (1961), being nominated. Despite the fact that the film is a mere trifle that is significantly flawed I found myself liking it quite a bit and while it would be better as an eighty minute feature it still presented some pleasures over it's ridiculous two hour and fourteen minute length. In Marseille, France in the 1920s a young bartender, Marius, Horst Buchhoz, longs to escape his hometown by traveling the seas on a ship. This ambition is threatened by his attraction to fish saleswoman Fanny, Leslie Caron, who seduces him by turning her affections on the elderly Panisse, Maurice Chevalier, who does not understand that she is simply teasing him and thinks that she is really attracted to him. He approaches her mother Honorine, Georgette Anys, in the hopes of marrying her but Marius and Fanny admit their love for one another that night and have sex. He abandons her for the sea after a misunderstanding but she discovers that she is pregnant and marries Panisse because he has always wanted a son to carry on his legacy. She is unhappy without the love of her life and while Panisse and her mother attempt to support her she witnesses the father of her former love, Cesar, Charles Boyer, experience depression due to the absence of his son. Marius returns many years later and a dying Panisse pushes him to reunite with the mother of his biological child. Nothing of particular note occurs in the film as one could easily predict each dramatic plot beat and none of the character's responses to events are unexpected but there is a simple pleasure in seeing an old fashioned, fluffy film. Of course the creep factor must be acknowledged as much like another Leslie Caron and Maurice Chevalier collaboration, Gigi (1958), we are meant to find the idea of a winsome young girl falling in love with a much older man charming and not slightly worrying. The film never addresses whether Panisse and Fanny sleep together while they are married and tries to lean on the idea that their union exists due to their shared desire to raise a child. If we attempt to ignore the potential horrors of this relationship and accept the innocent, rose tinted view that the film offers of their marriage there are a lot of other things to appreciate about the film. The film's greatest asset is the cinematography which provides a stunning image of Marseille, a city that is already extremely beautiful, and while I don't think we needed quite as many shots of the blue seas and colorful local flair I did marvel at the atmosphere Jack Cardiff builds up. You get a nice opening in which the local market is depicted as a warm and friendly place while the sun beams down on the locals outside as they relax in the shade of the trees or step out onto the cobbled streets. In some ways it is odd that the film idealizes this location so much but expects us to understand the desire that Marius has to escape from a seemingly idyllic place. Essentially the film works as an endorsement of Technicolor as the beauty of the location and of the actors is highlighted with each frame being drenched in bright pinks, yellows and blues. Joshua Logan could have kept a tighter handle on the film because it runs for far too long and there are too many scenes that feel completely unnecessary. This was a hallmark of his work as previous films of his such as Sayonara (1957) do not necessarily have as much impact as they could because they are bogged down in extraneous content. He also coaxes middling performances out of a cast largely made up of actors known for playing French stereotypes. Caron is more tolerable than usual but it is Boyer who emotional grounds the film as his love for his son seems sincere and he suits such a larger than life, intense character. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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