Le Silence de la Mer

Don't be fooled by the guise of civility; fascism is, at the very least, to be excluded from civil discourse. Even if the prose is elegant, it may be redundant against such succinct imagery. The actors are deliberate, Bressonian, accentuated under deep textures of light: pale snowscapes, a flickering fireplace, the long cast of a Nazi's shadow - naive and sincere though he may individually be - the specter of fascism ever-present behind him. It's reminiscent of the most expressive silent films.

Probable one of the most subtle Nazi tales put on screen. More a philosophical and silent feel to this home occupation. Designed to make you think. And it does.

Masterful direction and storytelling. For someone so close to the material presented, he demonstrates the maturity of a veteran filmmaker in his debut. Kind of incredible how restrained and detailed the film is all at once.

You can definitely see how Melville would go on to be one of the greats in noir, but the script is a bit too novel-esque for his sparse style. The book itself is kinda awkward politically - fascism is bad because it ruins culture? Might not have your priorities straight there.

Quiet, contained WWII drama hinges mostly on Vernon's devastating performance -- the extent to which he is a true party member vs victim of circumstance 'making the best of it' is an intriguing ambiguity which keeps the film ticking beyond it's overly artificial and contrived set-up -- the 'silent treatment' seems overdone and unconvincing, and overuse of droning narration from Robian robs some scenes of their inherent power.

The silent treatment at its finest.

For me this is Melville's best. His other works where he wandered into the worlds of heists and gangsters did not interest me in the least. Leon Morin was good too.

88.500

Not much to say. It really left no impression on me at all. It's okay, I guess.

Driven almost entirely by mood which both enriches and inhibits the impression this film leaves.

87.000