If Douce cannot quite compare with director Claude Autant-Lara's finest films (e.g., Le Diable au Corps or L'Auberge Rouge), it still stands as a very good, extremely involving example of French cinema struggling to survive during the stultifying Nazi occupation. Indeed, one can easily draw parallels to the socially imprisoned lives of its main characters and the occupation of France, although Douce does not really stand up under close examination in this light. Its real strength is in the way that Autant-Lara has so perfectly captured a quintet of disparate figures and woven their destinies into a tight, interconnected, romantic tragedy. The director even pushes in a little satire along the way, giving the film a lovely range of textures. He is helped by the atmospheric cinematography of Philippe Agostini, whose camera captures startling candle-lit images throughout. Even more important are the contributions of his cast, especially Odette Joyeux in the title role. The actress captivates from beginning to end, taking a character that could come across as a tiresome adolescent and fleshing her out so that the viewer cares greatly about her predicament. Madeleine Robinson and Marguerite Moreno also provide carefully etched, mesmerizing performances, the latter especially memorable in the "Christmas visitation" sequence.
by Craig Butler
review
