Directed by:
Marcel PagnolScreenplay:
Marcel PagnolCinematography:
Georges BenoîtComposer:
Vincent ScottoCast:
Raimu, Ginette Leclerc, Charles Blavette, Alida Rouffe, Charles Moulin, Édouard Delmont, Robert Bassac, Robert Vattier, Maximilienne, Fernand Charpin (more)Plots(1)
The warmth and wit of celebrated playwright turned cinema auteur Marcel Pagnol shine in this enchanting slice-of-life comedy. Returning to the Provençal countryside he knew intimately, Pagnol draws a vivid portrait of a close-knit village where the marital woes of a sweetly deluded baker (the inimitable Raimu, praised by no less than Orson Welles as “the greatest actor who ever lived”) snowball into a scandal that engulfs the entire town. Marrying the director’s abiding concern for the experiences of ordinary people with an understated but superbly judged visual style, The Baker’s Wife is at once wonderfully droll and piercingly perceptive in its depiction of the complexities of human relationships. (Criterion)
(more)Reviews (1)
Raimu could have been as great an actor as he wanted, but this film simply didn't captivate me. Story-wise, it's not bad, but the most crucial moment comes after two hours of watching. It shows that the role of the baker had to be played by someone with sufficient acting skills because otherwise, the finale would just come across as unbelievable. But the rest of it just didn't appeal to me.
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