There are - or were - probably aspiring directors who would kill for a CV like that of Claude Autant-Lara, littered as it is with such gems as Fric Frac, Douce, L'Auberge Rouge, Marguerite de la nuit, Le Ble en herbe and La Traversee de Paris to name only a handful, yet Le Diable au corps is a strong contender for his masterpiece. In the Radiguez novel the boy is several years younger than the woman and whilst Gerard Philippe and Micheline Presle were the same age - both 25 when the film was made - this is irrelevant such is the luminosity of the acting. It is doubtful whether Micheline Presle ever did anything to eclipse this despite a long and distinguished acting career. Thankfully she is still with us and still gracing the screen via cameos in her highly talented writer-director daughter, Tonie Marshall's often brilliant films whilst co-star Gerard Philippe died tragically young. Autant-Lara skillfully blends drama and lyricism and one would go a long way to find the equivalent of the scene on the river with Presle at the oars in striped jacket and picture hat as Philippe relaxes with his head on her lap. The moral climate of the time probably played its part in dictating the shot where the couple first consummate their love, the camera panning away from them and lingering on a fire which slowly bursts into full flame and a subsequent scene is shot from behind the fireplace with the flames rising gently between us, the audience, and their faces in close up. Autant-Lara uses the fire for a third time when the camera pans from Presle's death-bed to that same fire as the flames slowly dwindle to nothing. Equally inventive is Lara's handling of flashbacks which are invariably triggered via bells winding down whilst Presle's first appearance - she materializes out of a mirror into which Philippe is gazing - arguably owes something to Cocteau. This is, quite simply, a stunning film and cannot be recommended too highly.
Review of Devil in the Flesh
