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    Curtis Futuremann
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    BLANC-HOANG Henri-Simon (FrenchCinema&TheGreatWar)_2015

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    9 views11 pages

    BLANC-HOANG Henri-Simon (FrenchCinema&TheGreatWar) - 2015

    Uploaded by

    Curtis Futuremann

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
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    ™ Av Antcrchivof Word War Cin se the 180: he He sie th Ha of he Woden: Une of Tama Pr Sot) 111 Gute fm sine bee Aan Sa Wana ope ‘a of Pn Fama ams A Har ery Pe yy 13 Pip fin Us “De ane nena Masai, Foran e God Fora 20 200) PL aa "Tt Bo: a Ona ai ce Ape Hom. 10. [BIBLIOGRAPHY ‘gle beens a se mes tox te Sn A nate See cae Siete eee meant te Sat coon rpms a ea Eee Aa pe agen sw tm See aa nm ‘Wit Alan Lamon. Repub of Image: A Hiss of French mating ‘MA Tava neo Bn 9 Td oe Chapter Four Expressing Pacifist Views through the Recovery of World War I’s Silenced Voices in Jean-Jacques Annaud’s La victoire en chantant (1976), Bertrand Tavernier’s Capitaine Conan (1996), and Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Un long dimanche de fiancailles (2004) Henri-Simon Blane-Hoang, ‘As Burope prepared forthe one hundredihannivesary ofthe bexining of ‘World War fim decors suchas Yves Angela, Christian Cason, Gabriel Le Borin, and Frangois Dupeyron began to take a pew ire in eresting ‘sorks that pertayed his historical peed French movies about this mbtary Confit have unfotunetely so fr mostly excluded events ha involve crucial ‘Heed voices sucha foreily elsted colonial troops, female vitims of “saul and the underrivlege Soca classes who were expe as cannon ode Inthe pst iy years, however, sree major Freneb films haveiret fy addressed these issues, In ach instance, the dcetos have found inspia- ton i different cinematographic genres to express their anti-war sentiment. Jean-Jacques Anna in Lavoie em chamtant (1976), lis cm parody to hivize the absurdity of booh World War Land colonialism, Betund the Cpu of the lw d'avetine, Berizset Toverier ia Capitaine Conan (1386) splot the ston im to show women as collateral vieins of the Gostver pecod. Finally, Jean-Piewe Jeunet in Un long dimanche de anaes (2008) ies te oance pene as «backround to resseate the 6 xprasaing Patt ewe memory ofthe socrfis, the working-class solders who died uselessly inthe srenches Although parody-besed comedies, fms d'oventure, and romances sre ifferent fim genes, La victoire en chament, Capitaine Conan, ad Un ome dimanche de fngatles all ly upon eaaon feign 8 voice to ‘important groups who were silenced dung both the vr and is afermath, [By introducing tensions between differert ames and spaces within the plots ‘of each of thei respective fms, Arnaud Tavern, aa Jeune invoke both ‘temporal and spats displacement th: impars an ineceased awarenese of the fay oF ue epally white diveftanchized groupe such atthe ele nal oops, women, and the working elas become ts innocent casualties ‘Accocing oma Malisse be Che Janal,“Diplacemert denotes he fact that person is foreed to move from the comfort of the friar suround- ings toa wholly new plae which i unfamiliar and strange to them”! Even if the notin of "displacement was primary aimed at describing a posteoloni- al context, this feeling ean also refer othe readers’ crthe viewer rections ‘when confonted witha diferent pespetive within anarative thet belongs ‘other ovm culture. Inthe case of Bris heritage literature ofthe Common. ‘weal, for instance, this genre "moved in to new landscape, established ‘new founding national myths and sruggad to define [its] own national itr ature against the force of British ation. (I) encountered the tginating aditions a5 Other, a tadtion of writing to define oneself against"? For Jakub Kazecki, this notie ean also be applied to La sifore en chantant, ih eg deca or placement, psa oul es he experience of he clase no hatte colons te on of ‘he colt wen son of he elaenary epee foe wh ore ‘eon fr thir fla sey Ter te me can Beda he cloner: dro et ft aeplemen moving rn Ease oe loner ey ares hae Infact, what Ann does for La itor en chantant i repeated by both Bertrand Tavernier and Jear-Piere Jeans in Capitaine Conan sd in fong slmanche de fingailes, respectively Inches te Filme, the we of emp ral and spatial displacement within the pot eretes a tension between the traditional views ot World War and produces textual spece that accommo- dates the emergence ofthe silenced vos ofthis me period ‘TEMPORAL DISPLACEMENT IN “A VICTOIRE EN CHANTANT ‘The plot of £2 victoire en chantanbezins in anuary 1915, A group of French expatriates enjoy their pvileged ves a colonier nan outpost tt How Simon le Ho a borders German Equstorial Afica Only young geographer, Hubert Pres: oy, seems fo be questioning the sais quo of colonial rule When news of the “grand confi” arives almost six month after the beginning of the Iostiies in Europe, the old demons of nationalism begin possessing the French colonilits Iiually, Fresney plans to talk to the Geman officer because the young geographer hope to avon! extending the European con Act io Afpca. However, his elow courrymen immediately decide to over take the small German miliary ouyost and fribly deft Affcan men m2 ‘makeshift colonial anny. After the flue of the fst atack, Fresoy relse- {andy takes charge ofthe French comp inorder tit the damage At he end the tree enemy soldier finaly surender when a Bish mlitary expe ‘dion aves to takeover the German oupost Tn adton to ential examinatin af bth World Wer | and colonialism, ‘Annaud’s film beoomes a distoriet reflection of the European batlsield, ‘The frst word confit is removed within the French psyche as one of ‘the worst wars thatthe natin endured Not only dd ths time period see the higher human casualties sustained in modern French fstory, but these four years were also poitlessly monotoneus (Here was no significant ertorial ‘gin for ether side after 1914) In ia wctotre on chante, however, eveN= thing thet was promised tothe posulation at the beginning of the war in Europe actually comes tue i tems of both time (ie, the duran ofthe wat and space (an easy tertoral emquesvrecanquest). Although Annan’ purpose ito create 4 parody of tational war fis, the events marae (ven sf smaginay) actually corespond que closely with the realty of ‘World War Lin Equatorial Afica.n order o uid on these similarities, the film dlberely reduces the four-year conflict n Euope a one month wit ‘nthe naatve's seating The fim begins witha sideshow of black-and-white photographs tht ‘ave been painted in color ae was somman practice atthe beginning of the ‘worth century, ad hence the pay on word forthe English tile of the film (Black and Whi m Color lathe backround, the “chant du dpa” (Gila "Za vitor en chant) amity song that dates back tothe Nap onic period, can be heard, Chrisine Bolus-Reichert erie kind of temporal displacement inthis presentation already fel by the viewers them- sets: Amaud drs the rth vale of phosphate of san ‘comb thm oh tha mas BO ino pet Be po ‘2p ar posed the Baap wre pte ek The rg which ould feu hi har deh mn hal dapaced vo Tanvenon’ ® xpresing Pasi Views stead of using these war propagands posteards within context ofa Instone reconstution (as would Be done ins hecitage film, Arnaud nt rts them within his parody "The most blatant tstanc of tomporal displacement in La victoire en ‘hantan is how the war ends. What happened onthe "Afian font sn fact, exacly wet was predicted for the War inthe summer of 1914: the French and British amed fores quickly took over the Geman colonial possessions in Togo and Cameroon, ata very low cost of human life As ‘aly 1914. the combined assault of the thre major colonial posers in Aiea (the UK, Pranee, and Belgium) agaist the smal and soled German ‘wontores made dominating ths side of the front almost uncomplicated end efforts (in eomparison withthe four yeas of tench warfare Europe) Although these evens ee parodied in the film, the pot parsdonically its withthe ality of history In La wetotre em anton, the rel ofthis shoe ‘war is even beter than What was promised by nationalistic propaganda and beaiove by blind fanatics because not a single white European ie is ost, ven when theft assault against the stall enemy oupost ens ina diaser ‘because of the more advanced German firepower. Both sides have Frey fed Aticans in ther amies nd sent them to die onthe front The oly vistims, the only deaths are found aong the native population. ‘The exvironment to isthe reversed mage of what Europeans remember ‘of World War L Ther sno real wrench warfare (only a pared tere), no so, no cold tain, no mortar shells. Also absent are the enen’s canons and nerve as. Troops are not forcad to endure extreme cold temperatures? “The miliary expedition is depicted as a weekend spat in the eountrsice, specially at the beginning of the first batle * Not only 5 the intial bind fervor tht conmbuted to extreme expressions of patiotsm at the beginning ofthe war preserved, but things also remain as they were in the sunmer of 1914. Viewers are directly conffomted with the absurdity of the Europes, colonial fantasy of Aiea Prom the white man's perspective, the “dak con tinen” isa place Rozen in time, ahistorical, where even time pases difer cy than in Faron Ac omit, even the fale prminee quik and ens) wat that seduced the crowds when the war broke out in Europe mae- alize below the equator. The ison has become reality. With the find canelusion ofthe hostiues, the temporal isplaceren is complete snd fare ther reveals the faty of the conic as the German outpost is peweflly given away fo the British colonial administration a he films consusion. In this final ease, the discrepancy between the perception ofthe length of the ‘war inthe Fatherland and in he colonies farther reinforced Al the prope: tandistc promises have been fulled: the war was short ad ook place ‘mostly inthe summer. Thu, the French expression “temps” s dovbly pet ‘ent hee as it means both “tine” and" weather” in English Henn Bon eng 3» SPATIAL DISPLACEMENT IN LA VICTOIRE EN CHANTANT. ‘Theterson causod by spatial placement in Annu’ im ean be ound in the Tatle step by Europeans to not only transpose their space ino he Aificn seograpy, batalso incorporate these overseas teritones into het ‘wn tine fee, es fan invisible nk were to atch geography and histery Im La victoire en chants, te character of Young geosraper Hubert Fres- roy, however, stands forthe forces that ae questioning colonialism. From the bepanig, he has become as amtterelonographer who is ying to eam about a now coleue independently from the preysices associated with the fseagrphical expansion of French terior an scan erpie. The idea of tho History of France as "continous expansion” in both ime and space (Ge, enationaltritory must elosly be associated with an ever-expanding ‘eoarapy) does nat make sense to him. He quickly becomes aware thst France's "mission eivieaie” des not it with he eaity of what he sees in [Afri For example, Fesnoy relies that in terms oftheir way of ifthe local mers are not that different than the Pench peasas. He has a hard time secing himself as superior tothe indigenous population. In the sane ‘way tht the young man purses his work es an independent amateur ehog- raphegeogranher (ho i leaning about a new clture without linking ito ‘8 oograpial space tached tothe French Faterand), he understands that History tod Geography should bewo separate elds thet need not be consid ‘ed one unique dteipine For him, one must and should have te right 10 Team about ciferentcltare without the need to conquer it-—whethe his concept apples toa terry tthe mind The ant-coloniast message (\e,parodying the spatial displacement of Franas to Africa) i already reveeled within the ist few minutes ofthe fim, ‘nena series of French black-and-white propaganda posteards of Werld War Tare parading onthe sereen, The histrcal figure of Joan of Arc and the folkloric charcter of am Alsaban woman in mouming who appear nthe ‘hotcgrapbs clear refer to France's obsession with retaking the ost regions ‘5 Albina Monele (Lorne) 11 This gmgraphiel scr, ewever.# Ate Placed since the plot of La bctire en chantant is Timed to Equatorial ‘Aria, In ation, the tile fo the 1977 reissue of Annand's movi, Nourse ‘blanc en coeur, i ls clear allusion tothe incorporation of African ‘woop in World War 0 which both Afiacans and French soldiers fought ‘ogeir agaist the enemy. The spatial displacement happens in not only te ‘contet ofthe movie Bt ots for, rai colomalistisconre, the idee of superimposing the map of Europe ‘oto another continent (be tthe Americas, Afnca, or Asia) and ierefore eating artificial borders where none orginally existed is hardly novel, [Neverheles, inthe parody of colonialism that is La witotre en chantant, ‘hie spel displacement of Burope in Africa ridiculed to the extreme * spring Pai Views ‘beatse of the discrepancy (in tem of sale between Freeh geographical references and their anspostions overseas For instance, before te attack guns the enemy font Fremoy’ fellow countrymen call the swampy spring hat separates ther outpost from German Equitorial Aca the Rhine Ri «=. Transplanting both Wester ealonizes" vison of time (History) and space (Geogrptiy) onto Afia leads to disastrous consoquenees The oaly ‘atonal being who ses the stupidity of transposing a European wart the Afican continent is dvisively refered to an "the gevuayc” mle In {Wow cautrymen who ae Bind’ by pao rage cll theses the ‘The lst consequence of the spatial displacement fom Europe to Africa ‘makes nationalistic propaganda fook even more sdiuloue than the final results of the conic on the European front If atthe teyinning of the Eopean wa, the Pench army painfully managed to "iberae” or “recap ‘ure a tiny ation ofthe Alsace region (at was previously lost ing the ‘war of 1870-1871), the armies ofthe Eaten (even after the US. trve ‘on were never abi wo penevate inside "enemy teritory.” I the regions of Alsace Moselle were retired to France at the end ofthe war, he denous ‘ment of La victoire en ohantan’ is more disppoining for the “pation” because the enemy ourpost is submited tothe British colon administa- ‘Overall, Anna's film relies heavily on the discrepancy between 140 ‘umelines and two places to produce his parody and to condemn bind nation slim. Since history i used a politcal propaganda tol to uphold a ha init message, ts purpose must be justified spatial terms. As esl carly ste sixteenth century, the map of Europe sas reproduced in the “Americas, Africa and Asin (with dierent zones of mluenceatiibuted 19 ‘cach European colonizing power) Nevertheless the “pate” vision of “national tetory” (te, geography) expanding overtime (ie istry) thet ‘is most acutely ridiculed in La vcore en chantan. Along with its eatcisn ‘of cotniliam, the film also satitzes the inital parte fervor tat donna cede summer of 1914 and delusively ensured shor, easy war with limited ‘bloodshed This s made posible because the French colonialist ae Africa ‘8 an alemporal and ahistoreal place: the “dark continent” is 8 European fantasy made elity. The displacement of World War I to Africa allows for the French protagonists inthe flim to-not only full their fantasy of the sates” ie nde colonial me, but also continue to ve wath te hin that he rest ofthe French population fla the beginning ofthe war an that ‘quickly dissipated as even the “patos” realized thatthe conflict was going ‘olast more than a single summer. Hew Sinn Blo Hong 4“ REMEMBERING THE FEMALE VICTIMS OF ASSAULTIN, (CAPITAINE CONAN 1 Tavenie’s Capitaine Conan ean be estogorind as a French “hesitage film” and therefore serves the purpose of helping to preserve the Prench (in ‘his case) national collective memory, ane should consider the fat that tis _gice i nt automatically reactionary per se. Tn European counties other ‘han Peace, henge fia” are, even nthe worst case, ambiguous in other words, even if their deters by to confor to an “oficial version” of @ ional romance, ther work cannot etl silence the marginalized voices of History. Therefore, bentage fms include bth reactionary snd progres ‘ve elements ofthe Vision of History they represent. Por this reason, master ing this cinematographic ene en sometimes be sm oppor for Besos te question the vision of sory they were taught in School. This is the case ‘of Captane Conan, n which Bertrand Tavernier gives us is own versio of fn ami-war movie. The same way that Anaaud uses parody to convey his pct, Taverier finds his inspiration ws the "advenure” gee, While ‘Annaud’ La vctire en chontant san open deruncaton of cons nd ‘suggest how this system exploited African troops a cannon fot, Cap Taine Conan focuses on women asthe victims of @ war that as offealy ended, The plot of Caplaine Conan begins a few days before the end of World War I, on the Eastem fot (the Balkans), where the Armée Franaise Orient is atacking Bulgar because his county 1s fighting on the side of the Triple Alliance: While Licaenant Norbert has regular to0ps unde his ‘comand, his fiend Lieutenant Conan (Later Capain Conan) isin charge of 4 "cons franc,” unit of convicts who have been date for thei erly and do ot abide by the eps of war Aer Noverter 11, 1918, however, the Année Franaise "One snot demobilized and must confine to fight, this time agsinst the Bolsheviks While they are stationed in Bucharest in allied temtory, some solders fom Conan’s comps franc savagely kl to ‘women while commiting aobbery ata cabaret Nosber is apposed as both ‘he chief investigator ofthe case nd the defense atorey forthe secused Like JeanJacques Annaud in La vicowre em chardant, Taverier also relies on temporal and spatial displacement techniques to present a new perspective on World War I, nt ily ential the “adventure” aspect of fhe fim shoulda be ignored) bt at eat aia wo te French pubic. tans of ume displacement the plot of Capitaine Conan takes place during the last days of November 1918 and atthe begining ofthe war against the Bolsheviks In terms of spatal displacement, Tavernier locates his lm

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