Le Beau Serge (1958)

 Claude Chabrol's "Le Beau Serge"


When one thinks of the famous "Cahiers du Cinema" film critics who went off to direct films of their own, one often thinks of Jean-Luc Godard and Francois Truffaut. However, it was Claude Chabrol who was the first of this group to direct his own feature. Chabrol's debut effort, "Le Beau Serge," while not as freeform and inventive as many of the other films of the Nouvelle Vauge movement, is still considered an entry into this creative aesthetic. 

The film centers on Francois, a sickly young man returning to his hometown of Sardent to spend the winter. He reunites with his friend, Serge, after having been apart for years. Francois finds Serge in a bad state: an unhappy alcoholic. His wife, Yvonne, is pregnant with another child after his first attempt was stillborn. Francois' presence in the town starts drama, causing tension between him and Serge. After the two fight, Francois decides to stay in the town despite the anger and hatred towards him. He believes that he can make a difference in the lives of these people he believes are slowly disintegrating.

While the plot of the film is relatively simple, I found it completely compelling regardless. The small village of Sardent is full of people completely 'given up' on life. There is no longer anyone going to church, they are spending their days drinking and wasting away, and their lack of interest in adhering to any moral consistency is void. Francois believes that he can change this landscape simply by being present and acting in good moral standing. Perhaps this feat isn't completely accomplishable, but his determination to have Serge present for the birth of his child at the film's end renders his actions useful to some regard. 

Although "Le Beau Serge" doesn't fit the stylistic 'freeform' mold of the Nouvelle Vague that would explode in the coming years, its visual format doesn't completely negate it from being a part of it. Chabrol's directional choices, along with the inherent realism to the piece, make the story completely inhabitable. There's a dimensionality to it. With the characters, of course, but also with the visual format. While the standard format for French films felt more visually stoic (or perhaps stagnant) by 1958, Chabrol's visual choices imbue the film with somewhat of a greater sense of intimacy than other pieces of 'realism.' 



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