The middle film in The Marseille trilogy from Marcel Pagnol. The story picks up right where the first film (Marius – 1931) left off with Fanny fainting as Marius leaves for a long trip as a sailor to Australia
Set in the Bar de la Marine — Raimu plays César—and he is a very good actor (apparently Welles called him “the greatest actor who ever lived”)—when he and the Fanny character embrace you can feel his pain the anger simultaneously
The dialogue is always sublime—“the boy couldn’t measure a drink (he was a bartender) and now he’s measuring the ocean!”—“promise me you won’t kill her if she cheats on you”—he says “no, that’s a husband’s right” and she calls him a murderer- haha
Long tracking shot down the street as Fanny goes to confess and pray—but this is a film and trilogy about the writing and performances
All four central characters are just people you want to spend time with- Raimu’s César perhaps most of all– Panisse is a good man
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