Manon

Manon Lescaut, Abbé Antoine-François Prévost’s 1731 novel of doomed love, spawned nearly a half-dozen opera (most notably Puccini’s), and in 1949 writer-director Henri-Georges Clouzot updated it to post-World War II France.  In this version, Dégrieux (Michel Auclair) is a resistance fighter who rescues Manon (Cécile Aubry), a suspected collaborator, from the vengeance of his comrades and, obsessed with the girl, spirits her away to Paris.  There the cunning, ambitious Manon induces him to engage in lucrative black market activity, while she joins the stable at a high-end brothel.  His jealousy leads to murder, however, and the pair are soon on the lam from the authorities, stowing away on a ship transporting Jewish refugees to Palestine.  They reach their destination, but their trek through the desert culminates in the obligatory tragic end. Though now generally considered one of Clouzot’s lesser efforts, Manon shows flashes of the director’s still-developing style, particularly in his use of the techniques of American film noir, and is imbued with his cynicism about the morals of post-war French society.  It won the Golden Lion, the award for best film, at the 1949 Venice Film Festival, and despite some flaws (including newcomer Aubry’s sometimes amateurish performance), it is good to have it available in so well-produced a release as this, which boasts a fine transfer that allows one to appreciate the elegance of Armand Thirard’s black-and-white cinematography, with its exquisite use of light and shade.  Extras include a 46-minute 1970 television interview with Clouzot, a 22-minute discussion of the film by scholar Geoff Andrew titled Woman in the Dunes, and a stills gallery. Recommended. (F. Swietek)