Le Voyage du père (1966)
Directed by Denys de La Patellière

Film Review

Denys de La Patellière may never have been flavour of the month with the young Turks of the French New Wave but he was appreciated by the French cinema-going public for most of his career.  His recent demise (on 21st July of this year) gives us an opportunity to reflect on his cinematic achievements, which are not so easily overlooked.  His wide-ranging oeuvre includes the compelling thriller Retour de manivelle (1957), the ironic satire Les Grandes familles (1958) and, best of all, his magnificent anti-war film Un taxi pour Tobrouk (1960).   On 16th September 1966, La Patellière released what was to be his last quality production, Le Voyage du père, a colour melodrama that preceded two lesser works, the forgotten Soleil noir (1966) and Caroline chérie (1968), a weak remake of a 1951 film by Richard Pottier.
 
Le Voyage du père is adapted from a novel by Bernard Clavel, who did not take kindly to the changes made by the screenwriters to his story.  The film follows a sympathetic country man (played to perfection by Fernandel) as he undertakes a pilgrimage across some achingly beautiful rural landscapes to the hustle and bustle of the city (Lyon).  The hero's aim is to recover his lost daughter (lost in both senses of the word) but on the way he manages to get himself caught up in an unfamiliar world and a shady collection of individuals.  Audiences may have taken to this bittersweet melodrama (it offers an appealing story and impressive cast), but some critics were less than generous towards it.

Pascal Jardin's fastidious dialogue adds lustre to the performances, but both are undermined by Georges Garvarentz's overly emphatic score, which plays the emotional card a little too forcefully in places.  Fortunately, the film is extremely well cast, with Fernandel topping the bill in one of his memorable dramatic roles, which calls to mind his heartrending turns in Henri Verneuil's La Vache et le prisonnier (1959) and Henri Colpi's Heureux qui comme Ulysse (1970).  In a suitably restrained performance, Laurent Terzieff shines as the wistful teacher who supports Fernandel on his precarious journey.

Having played Mrs Jean Gabin in an earlier Maurice Clavel adaptation by Denys de La Patellière (Le Tonnerre de Dieu, 1965), the German actress Lilli Palmer is once again espoused to another icon of French cinema, turning in a performance of rare intensity (or is she just overacting?).  In a notable supporting role, the superb Madeleine Robinson inhabits the role of a brother owner with disturbing ease.  Michel Auclair and Philippe Noiret both bring a touch of class in their minor but hard-to-overlook roles.  Le Voyage du père is by no means a masterpiece but it was a hit with the public, attracting an audience of 1.1 million on its first release.  The film's recent migration to DVD provides a treat for fans of Fernandel, who can savour one of his last performances, at the time in his career when he was at his best.

Film Synopsis

The Quantins are a humble farming family who lead a mundane but contented existence in a village not far from the border with Switzerland.  At the present time, they are mourning the absence of the eldest daughter, Marie-Louise, of whom they have not heard a thing since she left to take up a hairdressing job in Lyon.  In the end, the Quantins become so concerned over what may have happened to their daughter that they decide to look her up.  The father sets off for Lyon, accompanied by the village schoolmaster Frédéric, who has aspirations of marrying Marie-Louise.  After finding the hairdressing salon where the errant daughter is supposed to be working, both men are surprised to find that she has left this establishment some time ago.  Apparently, she now works for the Trianon, a beauty clinic for men.  This proves to be something of a euphemism.

The profession that Marie-Louise is now engaged in is one that is as old as time itself, and when Quantin and Frédéric pay her a visit they are naturally mistaken for paying clients in search of a good time.  Before they know it, the two men are being carted off to the nearest police station, charged with immoral behaviour.  Once they have been set free, Quantin and his friend waste no time in paying Marie-Louise a second visit, but by now she has fled the scene.  She is now in Paris, comfortably settled with a rich sugar daddy.  It is with a heavy heart and a broken spirit that the old farmer returns to his home village.  Unable to tell his wife the truth, and knowing that his daughter is gone for good, Quantin weaves a convenient fiction, impressing his wife with what a wonderful life Marie-Louise is now leading in the City of Lights...