Monsieur Fabre (1951)
Directed by Henri Diamant-Berger

Film Review

The life and work of Jean-Henri Fabre, one of the most important naturalists of the 19th century, are respectfully honoured in this engaging biopic, one of the few films directed by Henri Diamant-Berger that deserves preserving for posterity.  As a young film director, Diamant-Berger established himself with his energetic silent serial Les Trois Mousquetaires (1921), one of cinema's best adaptations of Alexandre Dumas' famous tome, but he failed to live up to this early promise and spent most of his career turning out routine and mostly forgettable comedies such as Arsène Lupin détective (1937) and Mon curé chez les pauvres (1956).  Monsieur Fabre is the only one of Diamant-Berger's sound films where the director appears genuinely inspired by the subject, evidenced by a film that is not only a worthy tribute to Fabre but also a model in the biopic genre.  À propos, this is the film in which the actor Patrick Dewaere made his screen debut at the age of four; credited as Patrick Maurin, he appears as the youngest of Fabre's sons.

Pierre Fresnay was an obvious choice to play Jean-Henri Fabre, on account of his striking physical resemblance to the great man and his impressive track record of playing historical figures.  Prior to this, Fresnay had garnered international acclaim for his portrayal of Vincent de Paul in Maurice Cloche's Monsieur Vincent (1947) and gave a plausible impression of Jacques Offenbach in Marcel Achard's La Valse de Paris (1949).  A character actor par excellence, Fresnay rarely failed to bring an immense depth and humanity to his characterisations, and this is certainly true of his portrayal of Fabre.  Far from being a dry caricature of a dusty academic, Fresnay's Fabre is an ordinary man equipped with an extraordinary talent for observation, his love for his fellow man equalled, not surpassed, by his amour fou for creepy crawlies.

Fabre's friendship with the English philosopher John Stuart Mill is alluded to (thereby underlining the entomologist's interest in educational reform) and there are frequent references to the books written by Fabre, notably his series of Souvenirs entomologiques, a standard text on the subject of entomology and also an important work of French literature.  However, what makes the film come to life, in a way that few biopics of this era seldom did, is the way it draws us into Fabre's world via the inclusion of numerous documentary-like inserts depicting some of the more extraordinary and horrifying aspects of the insect world.

In one insert, a puny wasp manages to move a pebble fifteen times its own weight; in another, we witness the macabre spectacle of a praying mantis chewing its way through a living caterpillar.  Fabre draws attention to the unthinking heroism of black ants as they sacrifice themselves to protect their nest from an invasion of red ants.  A spider and a centipede wage a war to the death before calling a truce.  Most grisly of all, two male scorpions fight a deadly duel to decide who will get to mate with the female of the species - the victor is rewarded by being stung to death and eaten by his bride immediately after mating.  At times, you can't help wondering how the film ever managed to get past the censor...

Now that nature documentaries depicting the X-rated daily horrors being played out in our back gardens have become two-a-penny, Monsieur Fabre has lost some of the shock and awe value it had when it was first seen, but it remains one of French cinema's most cherished and authentic biographical dramas.  Just as Fabre was fascinated by the insects that became his life's study, so we cannot help becoming fascinated by a man who saw wonder in every aspect of insect life and was able to communicate this sense of wonder to his fellow man.  A forerunner of today's science popularisers, Fabre is an impressive and inspiration figure, and it is right that Diament-Berger's insightful film does justice to his achievements, honouring not only his immense contribution to science, but also his qualities as a teacher, writer and humanitarian.  The man who opened our eyes to the marvels of the insect world and thereby extended our appreciation of the miracle of creation deserves nothing less.

Film Synopsis

Avignon, 1861. When he is not fulfilling his duties as a schoolmaster and family man, Jean-Henri Fabre occupies himself in the study of insects, his main passion in life.  The most knowledgeable entomologist of his day, he begins publishing articles and his fame spreads far and wide.  The emperor Napoléon III invites him to the imperial court in Paris, where he is awarded the Legion of Honour for his services to science.  Fabre's radical views on education bring him into conflict with his superiors at the college where he works and in the end he is forced to resign his post.  Now a free man, he can devote himself entirely to studying the insect world, just as a personal tragedy is about to strike...