Zazie dance the metro (1960)

Directed by: Louis Malle | 89 minutes | comedy, fantasy | Actors: Catherine Demongeot, Philippe Noiret, Hubert Deschamps, Carla Marlier, Annie Fratellini, Vittorio Caprioli, Jaques Dufilho, Yvonne Clech, Odette Piquet, Nicolas Bataille, Antoine Roblot, Marc Doelnitz, Jaques Gheusi, Christine Howard, Louis Lalanne, Little Bara, Georges Faye, De Lannoy, Jean de Coninck, Paul Vally, Jean-Yves Bouvier, Jean-Pierre Posier, Jeanne Allard, Jacqueline Doyen, Arlette Balkis, Alegrina, Virginie Merlin, Irène Chabrier, Simone Duhart, Max Desrau, Claude Confertès, Sacha Thistle, Pâquerette

Zazie is a ten-year-old cheeky monkey who goes to stay with her uncle in Paris. That uncle earns his living as a Spanish dancer while his wife sews the costumes together. vague? We write France 1960, the time of the Nouvelle Vague and the experiments of Godard, Resnais and Truffaut. Although Louis Malle did not consider himself part of the Nouvelle Vague, his ‘Zazie dans le Metro’ can certainly be classified under this movement.

This is certainly not because of the story, or the lack of it. It is mainly the far-reaching cinematic experiments that make Zazie a genre-bound work. Accelerated shots, stop motion photography, weird jumpcuts, deliberate discontinuities and more of that kind of joke. It’s a style that suits the little main character well: bouncy, unstoppable and sometimes difficult to follow. They are stylistic devices that are nothing special to a contemporary viewer, but were once sensational.

The fate of these form experiments is often not to be regretted. If the experiments fail, oblivion awaits or the Museum of Cinematographic Curiosities. If the experiments are successful, other filmmakers will soon integrate the successful elements into their own work. In later films those stylistic devices will then make a much less forced impression than in the original, where means and end were often the same.

Does this make ‘Zazie dans le Metro’ a film that is of no use to a contemporary audience? Well no. Although the effects and tricks seem a bit forced and you sometimes want to stick little Zazie behind the wallpaper, this film is still very worthwhile for three reasons. In the first place as an example of the kind of film that helped to free the filmmakers from the rigid style rules that applied before. Secondly, because it is a film by the great Louis Malle, and one of the more important in his oeuvre.

But the main reason to watch ‘Zazie dans le Metro’ is because it’s just a really fun movie. Although the story really makes no sense, the interpretation is very entertaining. The characters are colorful and the adventures they experience are always worth following. There is a lot to laugh about and for the true film connoisseur it is teeming with references to genres, movies and stars. In short, despite its predictable unpredictability and its contrived effects, ‘Zazie dans le Metro’ is still well worth a visit.