Derniere Jeunesse (Second Childhood) attempts to translate the Irish sentiments of Liam O'Flaherty's novel Mr. Gilhooley into purely Gallic terms. Raimu plays the central character, a middle-ager of the "old school" who offers shelter and comfort to sluttish Jacqueline Delubac. Despite his own reservations, Raimu falls in love with the much-younger girl, remaining faithful to her even after he realizes that she cares only for his money. But when pimp Pierre Brasseur reenters Delubac's life, it is too much for Raimu to bear -- and this, coupled with the return of a mental sickness that Raimu had contracted years earlier in colonial Africa, leads to tragedy. Set in Rouen rather than O'Flaherty's Dublin, Derniere Jeunesse is an uncomfortable but generally satisfying melding of two diametrically opposite styles and sensibilities.
by Hal Erickson
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