The Return of Martin Guerre [VHS] Overview
While many ugly Americans best remember Gerard Depardieu from late-'80s Hollywood fluff (and the less said about Green Card the better), his art-house reputation as a legitimate, conscientious actor was more than mere hype. The solid Return of Martin Guerre (Le Retour de Martin Guerre) stands as Depardieu's personal high-water mark: here, he was handed a well-written, nuanced role--one inviting a balanced display of intelligence, charismatic cool, and pure passion--and he makes the most of it. The narrative, set in medieval France during the Hundred Years' War, follows the alleged homecoming of a soldier after many years of absence. His wife (a structurally difficult role to portray with any skill, but played gamely here by the fetching Nathalie Baye) finds him such an improvement--both in the sack and otherwise--from the husband who left for the front that she ignores the villagers' suspicions that he is an impostor. The costumes and scenery are quite a bit better, and more historically responsible, than what we've all come to expect from period drama, and the logical flaws and obvious questions begged by the plot mechanics are smoothed out by director Daniel Vigne's steady hand with story art and cinematic pacing. The film was remade in English, and updated to the Reconstruction, in 1993 as Sommersby, starring Richard Gere and Jodie Foster. See this original instead. --Miles Bethany
Customer Reviews
Natalie Davis, together with the director Daniel Vigne on his film. story of Davis' offers its audience a rare glimpse into the world of peasant life in sixteenth century in France. Historically, there are only a few times, where daily life for the comment lower social history or literature. Students of the humanities to examine only a few pounds a primary source. The Domesday Book is a collection of census records of the eleventh century England. The Canterbury Taleshave a fourteenth century collection of stories describing the lives of religious pilgrims in England, written by Geoffrey Chaucer. The Decameron is a collection of stories of the fourteenth century, written this time in Italy, by Giovanni Boccaccio.
story of Davis' focuses on Bertrand de Rols and her place in the sixteenth century, the society, especially as a woman. Bertrand was married to Martin Guerre, a young peasant of Basque heritage was. Both Bertrand and Martin were in theirA teenager at a time when marriage customs for peasants was changing in Europe. For several years, they have to play two very young children bother her marriage. Davis suggested that perhaps this was done was as happy as Bertrande enjoy their adolescence and can be free from the fatigue of motherhood and all the responsibilities that went with it. This is explained by the fact that their marriage to be evident at the insistence of parents for refusing anything. A few years passBertrande first conceived and bore a son - her first foray into adulthood. Davis explains how Bertrande, like other farmers, was once more aware of male-dominated world in which they lived. This is evident by the particle "de" in their name, a custom in the area where he lived for the representation of farmers in social and legal connection female had men in their families. It 'been under her father, her husband and finally her widowed mother and his unclestepfather turned. Frances and Joseph Geis illuminate in detail the customs of marriage and family at this time. During the Middle Ages, which made most farmers do not have formal marriage vows in church. Instead, they swore to each other as husband and wife living common law. Formality was not necessary, because farmers are not owned, worked the lands of the nobility as tenant farmers. Civil change costumes in the sixteenth century by farmers cancountry, which in turn leads to parents, consisting of more control over marriage choices of their children.
In 1548, Martin runs away from his village Artigat, France, to join the army so that his twenty-two years Bertrande woman and a young son. Its task significantly reduced the social position Bertrande in the village. It is no longer a woman in every respect, yet she is a widow who had the rights. Without a body to prove Martin is dead, can not be separated from him, and so,you are stuck with their situation. He moved back with her mother. Furthermore, it is ridiculous by their peers in every corner. Davis believes that to add up all these circumstances Bertrande always someone unhappy. After eight years living in quiet desperation, it's no wonder that they found to play their last hopes and dreams of a better life if the tricks Arnaud du "Tilen Pansette nickname," appears in the village in 1548, under the pretext of Martin Guerre. OfIt would have been prepared for Bertrande want to believe that her husband came to her that has enabled a better social position in the country would again. It also meant that Bertrande would be able to have inherited their home, with her husband, the land of his father recently died. Davis speculated correctly that even if Bertrande Pansette quickly that is not her husband is still in him a congenial companion and falls in love with him. They also have aDaughter together. Davis believes it is very plausible that Bertrand would become a willing collaborator in order to protect their newfound freedom and social status. couple's marital bliss unravels Pansette days with his uncle, Pierre Guerre, about his desire to sell part of the surface leads. This leads to Pierre became suspicious about the identity of his nephew because ancestral custom never to sell an old Basque country, is causing him to sue the Pansette as a fraud in a court.The feud divides the village, and finally to a break between points and Pansette Bertrand. Bertrand had initially testified that the original was Pansette Martin. However, before the start of a subsequent court hearing she caves to pressure from his widowed mother who married Pierre, to change his testimony. Fearing he could lose his reputation and social status of family and village, changing his testimony and Pansette accused of being an impostor.
Davisfalls heavy criticism from Robert Finlay assumptions about who perpetrated Bertrand on emotions, motivations, does, and their complicity in deception by Pansette. In Finlay's, article The redesign of Martin Guerre, Davis accused in the criminal too Cora left. "This Bertrande de Rols seems to be much more a product of invention of historical reconstruction." Davis, responding to Finlay's criticism of his methods of research, moredefended as reasonable in their articles on the blades. It describes his meticulous research of legal documents, social roles and cultural customs of the sixteenth century in France. "For Davis ... farmers, people with sexual impulses and economic and cultural traditions and resources which have escaped the eyes of most orthodox historians are."
The social historian Natalie Davis was in his efforts, the local archives, judicial tireless combDocuments and interviews in the current villagers Artigat to record the folklore of the "famous case" from their village. Davis was to understand these micro-history of the sixteenth century rural life in France, a light and simple and compelling narrative films. What makes the story so appealing to modern audiences and readers, is how relevant the story and the people who are up to now. This story is a story of people, but every dayas royalties and general history of normal subjects. History is full of riddles and phrases. It also examines the psychological areas of passion and deceit, while questioning personality formation and the self. In all these sub-plots tie together, Davis presents to the public now has the opportunity to examine and compare their own identities and questions of self-regulation.
I read the book and saw the movie for a class degree in humanities. Recommended Readingfor all lovers of history and psychology.
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