La vie de château (1966)

Directed by: Jean-Paul Rappenau | 90 minutes | drama, war, romance | Actors: Catherine Deneuve, Pierre Brasseur, Philippe Noiret, Henri Garcin, Mary Marquet, Carlos Thompson

In an old castle, near the Normandy coast, Marie lives with her husband and her mother-in-law. Marie’s family lives in nearby buildings belonging to the castle, who also own the castle. The family relationships are hierarchical and comical at the same time. Although there is a struggle for power, they are there for each other. The role of the mother-in-law also makes the film very funny from time to time. For example, she gets drunk in the company of an important army officer. Or does she continue playing imperturbably on her piano while the roof of the old-fashioned castle collapses. Catherine Deneuve comes into her own in the role of Marie. She plays a charming, playful young woman who is looking for adventure, who bites her head and with her naive attitude makes all men go crazy. The battle between the men for her love is believable and provides fun twists in the story.

The war situation is portrayed unilaterally, whereby everyone seems to be friends with everyone, so that the seriousness is not always visible. The fact that the love for the individuals involved plays a more important role than the warfare does ensure a nice course and a story structure that is well put together. The story is not predictable, although the ending should not be called surprising either.

Although ‘La vie de château’ is a film from 1966, it is hardly old-fashioned. The film is entirely in black and white, but the atmospheric images are of all times. The fact that the film is somewhat dated is mainly apparent from small things. For example, the pace of the film is slow. And there are also events in the story, which one should not worry about now. Like stealing apples from a cellar, fooling people by imitating the sounds of birds and other mischievous pranks. The acting is of a very good standard. The film is not a classic, but well worth watching.