Starring
Michel Simon, Alain Cohen, Charles Denner, Luce Fabiole, Roger Carel,
Paul Preboist. Directed by Claude Bern. (1967/87 min).
AVAILABLE
ON BLU-RAY FROM
Review
by Fluffy the Fearless😺
Claude
and Pepe have a strange relationship, to say the least.
Claude (Aain Cohen) is an 8-year-old Jewish boy living
with his parents in Nazi occupied Paris. Like most kids, he's
mischievous and wants to fit-in. But his father, terrified of calling
attention to themselves, regularly scolds him for misbehaving. As the
threat of being shipped to Auschwitz looms larger, they send Claude
to live with an elderly couple in the country.
Since
the couple are devout Catholics and Pepe (Michel Simon) is a staunch
anti-semite, Claude must keep his heritage a secret. Pepe himself is
a piece of work...a stubborn, closed-minded nationalist who's blindly
loyal to France's puppet leader and spends his evenings listening to
government propaganda on the radio. He also shares his contempt for Jews with
Claude, who listens intently and asks many questions, never revealing what he really is.
But
ironically, it's Pepe with whom Claude develops the closest bond.
Claude grows to love the old man, despite his racist, wrong-headed rhetoric.
Pepe shows more affection and respect for the boy than his own father
ever did, treating him as an equal and teaching him - sometimes
irresponsibly - the ways of the world and,
best of all, the inherent joys of childhood.
 |
| "Then the doctor says, "If this is my thermometer, where the hell is my pen?'" |
Though
set against the backdrop of the darkest period in European history,
The Two of Us tells the sweet, heart-warming story of this
relationship. We genuinely like Pepe, accepting him more as an
ill-informed buffoon than a hateful bigot, and Simon plays him
perfectly. But the real revelation is little Cohen. Nearly the entire story is presented through this child's
eyes, and we learn through brief opening and closing narration that
this is how he remembers the war. Carrying a whole narrative is a
considerable burden for any actor, but Cohen
(who was 9 at the time) delivers one of the most remarkably complex performances I've ever
seen from a child actor.
Though
mostly charming and upbeat - even quite funny, at times - an
underlying sadness is omnipresent beneath the film's sunny exterior,
occasionally surfacing to remind us of the harsh realities
surrounding these characters. Hence, The Two of Us is
ultimately a bittersweet viewing experience, but a memorable one well-worth seeing. Even 50 years later, its themes remain relevant and timely.
EXTRA
KIBBLES
MICHEL
SIMON DISCUSSES THE TWO OF US
MICHEL
SIMON AND JEAN RENOIR IN CONVERSATION
TRAILER
KITTY CONSENSUS:
PURR-R-R...LIKE A GOOD SCRATCH BEHIND THE EARS
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