#Jean Forest

[byneddiedingo]

Two by Jacques Feyder

Cécile Guyon, Françoise Rosay, and Jean Forest in Gribiche (Jacques Feyder, 1926)

Carnival in Flanders (Jacques Feyder, 1935)

Belgian-born director Jacques Feyder established his career in France during the silent era, and went to work for MGM in Hollywood in 1929 to direct Greta Garbo in her last silent movie, The Kiss. But Hollywood was more interested in having him direct foreign-language versions of movies after talkies came in: Before dubbing became a common practice, films were often made in two versions, one in English for the American and British markets, others in various languages for overseas audiences. So Feyder was tasked with making a German-language version of Garbo's first talkie, Anna Christie (1931), though he also made two movies starring Ramon Novarro, Daybreak (1931) and Son of India (1931). Disillusionment with Hollywood sent him back to France, where he made his most famous film, Carnival in Flanders, in 1935. The rise of the Nazis, who banned that film after they invaded France in 1940, caused Feyder and his wife, Françoise Rosay, who starred in many of his movies, to move to Switzerland, where his career stalled and he died, only 62, in 1948. After the New Wave filmmakers began to dominate French film, Feyder's reputation began to wane: François Truffaut said of Carnival in Flanders that it represented a tendency to make everything "pleasant and perfect," As a result, David Thomson has said, "Feyder may be unfairly neglected today just as once he was injudiciously acclaimed."

Gribiche (Jacques Feyder, 1926)

Cast: Jean Forest, Rolla Norman, Françoise Rosay, Cécile Guyon, Alice Tissot. Screenplay: Jacques Feyder, based on a novel by Frédéric Boutet. Cinematography:  Maurice Desfassiaux, Maurice Forster. Production design: Lazare Meerson. 

The young actor Jean Forest had been discovered by Feyder and his wife, Françoise Rosay, and he starred in three films for the director, of which this was the last. It's a peculiar fable about charity. Forest plays Antoine Belot, nicknamed "Gribiche," who sees a rich woman, Edith Maranet (Rosay), drop her purse in a department store and returns it to her, spurning a reward. Edith is a do-gooder full of theories about "social hygiene." Impressed by the boy's honesty, Edith goes to his home, a small flat above some shops, where he lives with his widowed mother, Anna (Cécile Guyon), and proposes that she adopt Gribiche and educate him. Anna is reluctant to give up the boy, but Gribiche, knowing that Anna is being courted by Phillippe Gavary (Rolla Norman), and believing that he stands in the way of their marriage, agrees to the deal. When her rich friends ask about how she found Gribiche, Edith tells increasingly sentimental and self-serving stories -- dramatized by Feyder -- about the poverty in which she found him and his mother. But the boy is unhappy with the cold, sterile environment of Edith's mansion and the regimented approach to his education, and on Bastille Day, when the common folk of Paris are celebrating in what Edith regards as "unhygienic" ways, he finds his way back to his mother's home. Edith is furious, but eventually is persuaded to see reality and agrees to let him live with Anna and Phillippe, who have married, while she pays for his education. The whole thing is implausible, but the performances of Forest and Rosay, and especially the production design by Lazare Meerson, make it watchable and occasionally quite charming. Carnival in Flanders (Jacques Feyder, 1935)

Cast: Françoise Rosay, André Alerme, Jean Murat, Louis Jouvet, Micheline Chierel, Lyne Clevers Bernard Lancret. Screenplay: Bernard Zimmer, Jacques Feyder, based on a story by Charles Spaak. Cinematography: Harry Stradling Sr. Production design: Lazare Meerson. Film editing: Jacques Brillouin. Music: Louis Beydts. 

Feyder's best-known film is something of a feminist fable, a kind of inversion of Lysistrata, in which the women of Boom, a village in 17th century Flanders that is occupied by the Spanish save the town from the pillage and plunder that the men of the village expect. Françoise Rosay plays the wife of the burgomaster (André Alerme), who holes up in his house, pretending to have died. The other officials of the town likewise sequester themselves. But the merry wives of Boom decide to wine, dine, and otherwise entertain the occupying Spaniards. It's all quite saucily entertaining, though undercut by a tiresome subplot (suspiciously reminiscent of that in Shakespeare's own play about merry wives) involving the burgomaster's daughter (Micheline Chierel) and her love for the young painter Julien Brueghel (Bernard Lancret), of whom the burgomaster disapproves. Again, Rosay's performance is a standout, as is Lazare Meerson's design: The village, with its evocation of the paintings of the Flemish masters, was created in a Paris suburb, with meticulous attention to detail, including the men's unflattering period costumes, designed by Georges K. Benda. The cinematography is by the American Harry Stradling Sr., who built his reputation in Europe before returning to Hollywood.

[atomic-chronoscaph]

John Phillip Law and Jane Fonda - Barbarella (1968)

[the-evil-clergyman]

A Nymph in a Wooded Landscape by Jean-Jacques Henner (19th Century)

[zegalba]

Jean-Léon Gérôme: Leda and the Swan (1895)

[lgbtjess]

i couldn't sleep so i created a masterpiece

[jerytoon21]

PotD_1096a_VirulentValmont : Justin Kersten + Benoit Forest

[gennsoup]

Oh why am I not sitting in the shade Of forests?

Jean Racine, Phèdre

[stubz]

"So path it is?" asked Pollix looking up at the steep forest hill.

"That'll take so long though..." whined Zyz.

"Why don't we just climb it?" buzzed Xw.

"Because...not everyone can make it." hinted Pollix.

"Yeah, and we don't want to-"

"What do you guys mean? It's easy! Even Marl could make that and their tiny-"

"Xw!" "They're right there!" the two hissed frantically pointing to Anthony and Malaika who stand to the side looking at some plants.

"...aw I forgot about them. Do we have to bring them?"

"Teacher Kim said that we need to stay in a group."

"And we can't just leave them, they don't have any claws or extra limbs or anything to protect themselves with!"

"Or to climb with..." Xw muttered.

The younglings stood there silent for a moment trying to figure out how they could help their friends up the very steep hill...if you could call it that. It was almost vertical at some parts and even though Xw said it was easy it would still be a bit tricky for the younglings.

"...We could carry them?" Pollix offered.

"Malaika maybe but Anthony is too big! He's bigger than you."

"What if we tossed done some roots from the top? Like rope!"

"That could work-"

"Hey guys! Hurry up!" called Anthony, he and Malaika almost half way up the steep hill.

"...race ya!" hollers Xw before they scuttle up the hill.

"Hey!"

"No fair!"

All three of them easily passed their human friends. Xw's 4 legs making it easy to climb the near vertical parts. Zyz and Pollix run on all fours, their claws dig into the dirt allowing them to run easily.

Every now and then they would glance down to adjust their pace so as to not leave Anthony and Malaika behind. It was strange to see them climb the hill, they had no claws yet managed just fine by using roots as handles and rope, it was like seeing larger versions of Marl climb. Save for the lack of tail and fur.

"Looks like I win!" grins Pollix just a few feet away from the top.

"Not for long!" cackle Zyz and Xw grabbing a hold of his tail and clothes. The younglings wrestle and fight and all topple onto each other on the top of the hill. They chuff and chirp and snort whit wide smiles on their faces.

...chuff, chirp, snort...where's the laugh?

"Anthony help!"

"I'm trying! J-just stay there!"

"I'm slipping!!"

Peering over the edge they look and look until they see their friends down the hill, about 10 feet down 5 feet to the left...right at the most steepest part of the hill. It seems Malaika had took a different path and was now stuck clinging for dear life on a tiny root that was slowing being pulled out. Anthony was going as fast as he could to her to try and pull her to the safer parts but he too was soon stuck.

Quickly Xw scuttled down to Malaika and grabbed her, frantically pulling her up but alas they were too small to carry her higher.

Pollix and Zyz skidded down and slowly yet surely guided Anthony to the safer parts where he could safely grab on to some roots to climb.

With Anthony now safe they went to Malaika to try and help Xw carry her up or to the side.

.

"You good Xw?"

"Yeah...I hope Zyz comes back with Teacher Kim though." they huffed.

After many terrifying attempts of trying to bring Malaika to somewhere safer on the hill they realized three things. One, the area Malaika was standing was too steep for her to climb onto Pollix or Zyz's back. Two, both boys needed both hands when climbing there so they couldn't grab her hand and pull her higher up to safety. Three, Anthony still couldn't make it to the top and as the biggest couldn't be carried or pulled to the top. In short, both humans were stuck.

"I got Teacher Kim!" Zyz yelled scrambling up the hill.

"...where is she?"

"...still at the bottom of the hill..."

"Zyz! She'll probably need help like-"

"Coming through! Can't stop the momentum!" yells Kim running up the hill on all fours. She goes until she reaches Malaika, grabs her, sits down and slides down the hill.

"..." "..." "..." "...Miss Kim what about m-?!"

The teacher climbs back up, this time slower, taking time to find roots to grab and dig her fingers into the dirt for better grip when she could find none. Malaika clings onto her back, much like Marl would do with his mom.

When she reaches Anthony she first boosts Malaika up to the roots they can't reach and has Pollix help her up to the top. Anthony goes next with some help with from Zyz and Xw until finally she herself goes.

"So what did we learn today?"

"...don't go off the path." the children mumbled.

"Because...?"

"Not everyone can do what other's can do."

"Good. Now let's go, I look like I crawled through the wilderness for miles." she chuckled looking at the dirt caked hands and clothes.

"...so in a few years you'll be able to do that?" Xw asks Anthony.

"I guess."

"My daddy can do that too! He climbs mountains without rope!" Malaika proudly declares.

"...should have brought your dad here then."

[illustratus]

Madness of Charles VI: crossing the forest of Le Mans on an expedition against Pierre de Craon, the king, brandishing a sword, mistakes the members of his retinue for enemies and attacks them.

— Froissart's Chronicles

[starzok]

gilmore girls | 2x13 | “a-tisket, a-tasket”

he was distracted for a moment

[imaginal-ai]

"Forest Spirit" (0004)

(More of The Guardians of Gaia Series)

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[atomic-chronoscaph]

Jane Fonda - Barbarella (1968)

[ffverr]

[weetlebeetle]

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[thevaultofretroscifi]

[asmileworthahundredlies]

The essence of my hopes and fears.

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