Monday, January 12, 2009

LaTerre, Antoine, 1921

La Terre is a solid adaptation of an Emile zola novel. It's quite a sordid tale of an old man who is neglected and cheated by his family after he splits up his property between them. The story and acting are all very good, but the highlight of the movie are the stunning location shots in the Chartres' countryside.

It has some flaws in that some of the editing is choppy and some scenes drag on a bit. Also, the musical score is sometimes intrusive. I have to take into consideration that Antoine was filming directly after WWI and no doubt times were difficult in France. Still, the early naturalist film movement is well-served by this addition. A 7 rating.

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