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Event
MON PÈRE AVAIT RAISON (MY FATHER WAS RIGHT)
Dir. Sacha Guitry, 1936.
France. 96 mins.
Women are made for marriage, and men are made to be bachelors. Thats the trouble! Writer-director Guitry stars as a cuckold in a stuffed shirt whose wounded pride predestines his son for a lifelong suspicion of the fairer sex. But the films rapid-fire dialogue and huffy moralizing are only a disguise: its true beating heart is in this sweet depiction of paternal devotion and filial tenderness, spread evenly across three generations of befuddled Frenchmen. Hilarity ensues, as it so often does, when their seemingly unflappable bond between is tested by womanhood in all its wily unpredictability.
Prolific polymath Sacha Guitry, born in Russia in 1885 to a family of French showfolk, made his name on the stage as an arch playwright of uniquely Gallic light comedies. At home, Guitrys wry observations on matters romantic, personal, and political have earned him a well-deserved reputation as a satirist of the highest order. And, like many of his fellow countrymen, his oscillation from stage to screen and back again resulted in a jam-packed body of work that freely blurred the distinctions between either medium. Director, writer, and often star, Guitrys well-trained ear for conversation is unparalleled, and his apparent gift for eliciting fine performances ought to be an example to working filmmakers the world over.
Stateside, in a firmament populated with Renoirs and Clairs, Guitrys cinematic and theatrical oeuvres remain relatively unknown. These three films, all from 1936, comprise little more than half of his cinematic output for that year - in addition to the titles presented here, Guitry also counted another two feature films and five plays within that brief span. At his height, he was by all accounts Frances foremost theatrical belletrist, but by decades end, goose stepping would reverberate across the Champs-Elysée and the output of this once-avid triple threat would slow to a crawl. Although the sparkling days of Guitrys pre-War Paris are but a distant memory, we can still cherish this trio of fripperies and the rosy-cheeked, winking time they represent.
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LocationSPECTACLE THEATER (View)
124 South 3rd Street
Brooklyn, NY 11249
United States
Categories
| Kid Friendly: No |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
| Wheelchair Accessible: No |
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