A Day in the Country (1946)

 Jean Renoir's "A Day in the Country"

In 1936, Jean Renoir shot "A Day in the Country," an adaptation from an 1881 short story by Guy de Maupassant. Renoir could not finish production, however, as there were significant weather problems. Instead, Renoir scrapped the project despite having almost an hour of good material. Ten years later, however, Marguerite Renoir (a film editor and Renoir's partner at the time of filming), along with her sister Marinette Cadix, edited the material that was shot and had this version released in 1946. 

The film centers on a family from Paris who take a day of relaxation on the French countryside. Two young men take interest in the wife and daughter and spend the day courting them while the husband and his assistant fish. One of the men, Henri, takes the daughter, Henriette, to the shore and she loses her virginity. Years later, she comes back to the same spot with her now husband, the former assistant to her father.

"A Day in the Country" is only 40 minutes in length and all its ideas seem compressed or half expressed. However, I still was able to enjoy it and get some great engagement out of it. The way in which Renoir visually composes the countryside is beautiful and upmost naturalistic. The sun is bright, the brush is lush, and the water sparkles under the sun. As the Parisian family enjoy this outing, so too do I enjoy it and all the natural beauty and freedom presented. 

Because the film came out in 1946, what was being viewed of the film was only a memory (of ten years prior). The film takes place in 1881, a memory of France when Renoir was shooting in 1936. In the film, time jumps suddenly and the final moments are spent with a faded memory of the 'day' in the country. Renoir's camera even zips away hurriedly from the river where once it softly glided. All of this coalesces to make "Day in the Country" but a simple memory. A day spent in the country, the feeling of freedom, the uncomfortable moment of virginity lost, the flirtations of a momentary suitor, etc. All of these happenings fly by us in a flash, as the real moments in life do. Looking back on the film is like looking back on moments of one's life. I found great beauty in this outlook. Despite the rapidness with which these memories fly by us, Renoir makes an effort to soak it in and capture it, make it PRESENT. It's this sense of presence that forms the memory. One never remembers moments of hustle and bustle, rather quiet moments of tranquility or time spent out in nature or moments of intimacy. Moments that cement you in the present moment. While reflecting on these moments, that sense of presence makes us feel this peace and this connection to our natural selves.

For me, this will be the memory I have with this film. Through Renoir's lens, I felt as though I were experiencing the beauty of the countryside and nature along with the characters. Not through their perspective, but through my own. I felt I had made a memory right along with them.