Tante Zita (1968)
Directed by Robert Enrico

Film Review

Having entered the film industry as a lowly editor, Robert Enrico first earned his directorial spurs with a short film, La Rivière du Hibou, which received not only the first prize for a short subject at the 1962 Cannes Film Festival but also an academy award in 1963 for the best live action short.  The following year, his first feature, La Belle vie (1963), won him the Jean Vigo prize, although the film was subsequently banned by the French censor because of its controversial point of view on the Algerian War.

Throughout the 1960s and 70s, Enrico was a prominent film director in France, working with some of the biggest stars and alternating adventure films, literary adaptations and intimate dramas.  One of his films in the latter category is Tante Zita (1968), which was first released in Paris on 12th January 1968 and met with a generally positive response.  Based on incidents in the life of his wife (Lucienne Hamon), the narrative was developed by Enrico's faithful screenwriter Pierre Pelegri into a simple but endearing story in which a young girl's escape from reality represents a final break from childhood dependency. 

Whilst it may not be in the same league as Enrico's better known films, such as Les Grandes gueules (1966), Les Aventuriers (1967) and Le Vieux fusil (1975), Tante Zita is still worth watching as it offers an engaging and honest reflection on the meaning of life without succumbing to schmaltzy melodrama.  Once again, composer François de Roubaix lends his voice to Enrico's latest project with a rich score that evokes the sadness of solitude as well as referencing popular dance themes of the era.

After whetting our appetite in Les Aventuriers, former supermodel Joanna Shimkus (a Canadian actress who ended up marrying the actor-turned-diplomat Sydney Poitier) plays the lead character Annie.  For some, Shimkus is an actress of rare sensitivity; for others, she fails to be convincing, let down in this film by her inability to conceal her English accent.  More impressive is the actress who plays Shimkus's French mother Yvette, Suzanne Flon.  From the early 1940s onwards, Flon had a remarkable career as a supporting actress, appearing in more than seventy films, which include John Huston's Moulin rouge (1952), Orson Welles' The Trial (1962) and Joseph Losey's Monsieur Klein (1976).

Suitably cast as the titular Aunt Zita is Katina Paxinou, a Greek actress who was once a successful opera singer, previously seen in Orson Welles' Mr Arkdin (1955) and Luchino Visconti's Rocco and His Brothers (1960), where she plays Alain Delon and Renato Salvotori's mother.  Paul Crauchet, a fine supporting actor with 130 cinema and television credits to his name, is well-chosen for the part of the family doctor, Bernard.  Bernard Fresson, an actor used to playing characters with strong personalities, turns in a nice character performance as the shepherd Boni.  Playing the compassionate double bassist is the charismatic Spanish actor Josep Maria Flotats, whose romantic appearance was revealed in Alain Resnais's La Guerre est finie (1966).

Tante Zita may be a minor entry in Robert Enrico's dazzling filmography but it enjoyed some success on its first release and reveals a much gentler, more humane side to the film director than we could ever have imagined.  This little gem is waiting to be discovered in all its glory on DVD.

Film Synopsis

Teenager Annie lives in a Parisian apartment with her mother Yvette and her aunt Zita.  When she comes home from school one day, Annie finds her aunt lying on the ground and immediately alerts the house doctor, Bernard.  Zita's health gradually deteriorates and Annie and Yvette become exhausted through having to take care of the old woman.  In the end, Annie cannot stand the situation any longer and runs away.  In the street, she meets Simon, a rock musician, and follows him to a place where there are mini car races.  When, a short time later, Annie is picked up by the police, Bernard comes to collect her.  Then Bernard learns that Zita has just died.  He decides not to pass on the news to Annie...