BFI Recommends: Partie de campagne
A day in the French countryside becomes 40 minutes of cinematic perfection in Jean Renoir’s sensuous classic. Our latest recommendation comes from Heather Stewart, the BFI’s Creative Director.
Wikipedia describes Partie de campagne as a comedy/short. It’s neither. Planned as a 56-minute feature, but derailed by the rainiest summer on record, it is 40 minutes of perfection. An ordinary Parisian family enjoy their annual day out in the country – the men fish, the mother frolics, young Henriette is seduced by Henri.
Jean Renoir pays homage to his father Auguste, recreating the painting of the girl on a swing, carefree and lovable in dappled, impressionistic light. The camera is moving, uniting then parting Henriette and Henri. The film has a mysterious alchemy; in choker close-up we experience hesitation, then the swooning moment of love on the banks of the Seine. Joseph Kosma’s score suffuses everything with intense yearning and romance, and drama. Nature itself is a character; the river central to the action, the sunshine giving way to clouds and torrential rain, telling the story of everything that could have happened. Sylvia Bataille as Henriette completely owns this film. See it.
Heather Stewart
Creative Director