A Monkey in Winter (1962)

Sorry, this movie sucks

Simply Perfect

A Masterpiece!

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Its lead virtue is to be more than a good comedy. a film about life. and its choices. about two men, in Tigreville. and about the result of that meeting who could change everything. a film about decisions, past strangers and...Spain. nothing new, but all useful in deep sense. because it is a simple film. about simple people. and about the fundamental meanings of existence. and sure, a fine motif for see it remains the presence of Gabin and Belmondo and their almost total seductive performances.

Despite his detestation of the New Wave (you got that one right, Jean)Gabin worked well with a new generation of actors, specifically Alain Delon and, as here, Jean-Paul Belmondo who was a genuine product of le nouvelle vague. This is a story of unlikely male friendship yet it is light years short of Il Postino in terms of intensity, it uses the unlikely bonding to generate laughs but L'Emmerdeur or virtually any of Francis Weber's other male bonding titles - Le Chevre, Les Comperes, Tais- Toi - leave it dead in the water. And yet it works, it weaves its spell, spins its web and we succumb gratefully. Of course Belmondo's sole representative of the nouvelle vague is hopelessly outnumbered not just by Gabin himself (even if by himself he is worth ALL the new waveleteers put together) but by the wonderful Suzanne Flon, Noel Roquevert and Gabriele Dorziat albeit in a cameo, all veterans of real French film making. All in all it's a joyous experience laced with a beguiling charm.

A small coastal town in Normandy is the setting for this story. We are taken to the last days of WWII as Allied air forces begin bombing the town. Albert Quentin, a local hotel owner has been drinking heavily with a buddy at the brothel. It becomes clear they must abandon the building if they want to save their lives. Quentin makes a promise if he will be spared of a death: he will stop drinking.Years go by and Quentin and his wife, Suzanne, are living and managing their hotel, Stella, located in the center of town. The city showed no signs of what the bombing it suffered. Gabriel Fouquet arrives one night and asks to be taken to a hotel. Most of the places are closed because of the winter season. The driver recommends him to go to the Stella. As Gabriel gets settled he wants to have a drink, but it is too late for that at the hotel.Gabriel is a man with a secret. His own daughter is studying at a local boarding school run by nuns. Gabriel and he girl has been estranged by some unknown reason that is not well explained. Eventually, Gabriel and Albert connect in surprising ways. They see in one another good nature as well as a friendship that comes from mutual understanding.Never having seen the film, we had a chance when it showed on a French channel. The film was directed by Henri Verneuil, an old timer in that country's cinema, closely associated with Jean Gabin, having worked with him in a number of pictures together. The screenplay is credited to Francois Bover and Michel Audiard, the father of director Jacques Audiard, in an adaptation of Antoine Blondin.The pairing of Jean Gabin and Jean-Paul Belmondo was a gamble for the creators of the film. They came from different styles of acting. Mr. Gabin was a superstar in his native country, having done excellent work throughout his career. Jean-Paul Belmondo, who was much younger, was a product of the recent New Wave, which Mr. Gabin detested because the chaotic style the new directors brought to the cinema. Evidently the stars show a rapport unimaginable, something that translated in a friendship off the camera as well.Suzanne Flon, a character actress, plays Suzanne Quentin. Louis Page, the director of photography captured the atmosphere of the little town of Normandy, even taking us to the beaches that saw the Allied invasion of France by the Allied forces.

Albert Quentin (Gabin) is running a small hotel in a coastal town in Normandy. He and his wife (Suzanne Flon)have settled down to a dull, peaceful existence heading into old age, when Fouquet (Belmondo), a young man gifted in flamenco dancing and getting very drunk, erupts into their lives. Soon all is turned upside-down, the teetotalling Quentin starts drinking again, and the town is treated to the most spectacular impromptu fireworks display that I can recall seeing in a movie. And that's not all... The acting is good all round: Gabin and Belmondo play off each other very well, Suzanne Flon strikes the right wistful and optimistic notes, and Noel Roquevert is very funny as the owner of a boutique where you can buy just about anything, including fireworks. Gabrielle Dorziat (of Les Parents terribles) has a nice cameo as the director of a girl's school who insists on speaking English.Henri Verneuil was a very popular director from the 50's to the 70's; without being a real auteur he had a talent for pleasing the audience. Un singe en hiver follows Mélodie en sous-sol with its fine Gabin-Delon pairing, and gave me a lot of pleasure.