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The art of war >>
Laissez-passer explores creativity by JASON BOGDANERIS
Based on the recollections of two wartime survivors, this unusual collaboration kept the French film industry active as the bombs fell. One is a pragmatic assistant director who continues to work when the studios are taken over by the enemy to feed his family and nourish his creativity. Like many in such a precarious position he walks a tightrope between open rebellion and subservience. Outwardly obedient to the new rules of the game, he nevertheless conducts covert acts of sabotage when given the chance. The other man is a slightly buffoonish rogue with the gift of gab and an eye for the ladies. With “four scripts on the go and three women,” he’s a writer whose first priority is self-preservation. Recognizing his value as an artist to the “bourgeois” German producers who recruit him, he boldly bargains with his new bosses, forcing them to accept a down-and-out colleague before agreeing to work for them. It’s an uneasy trade-off that’s at the heart of this story which on one level is a justification for French collaboration. In wartime, everything-both material and spiritual-becomes negotiable. A man’s reputation is bartered for personal safety, or an artist’s integrity for a basket of eggs. What’s refreshing about Laissez-passer is that it avoids facile moral judgements and stock portrayals of victims and victimizers. Even perennial cinematic bad guys the Nazis are treated with a rare subtlety. At nearly three hours, it’s a bit of a challenge to sit through, but ultimately succeeds thanks to a rigorous attention to detail. It’s a film full of integrity from a filmmaker whose love for the medium permeates every frame. : Laissez-passer opens Friday, July 12 >> Movie Listings |
Most
movies set in World War II inevitably involve themes of courage and
heroism. While Laissez-passer doesn’t shy away from sentimentality,
its protagonists are more pragmatic survivors than selfless heroes.
Bertrand Tavernier’s story of French film artists working during
the Nazi occupation is a convincing portrayal of an era which still
haunts the French psyche.