#388: BERRI, Claude: The Two Of Us (1967)

BERRI, Claude (France)

The Two Of Us [1967]

Spine #388
DVD
OOP

A Jewish boy living in Nazi-occupied Paris is sent by his parents to the countryside to live with an elderly Catholic couple until France's liberation. Forced to hide his identity, the eight-year-old, Claude (played delicately by first-time actor Alain Cohen), bonds with the irascible, stanchly anti-Semitic Grampa (Michel Simon), who improbably becomes his friend and confidant. Poignant and lighthearted, The Two of Us was acclaimed director Claude Berri's debut feature, based on his own childhood experiences, and gave the legendary Simon one of his most memorable roles in the twilight of his career.

87 minutes
Black & White

Monaural

in French

1:66:1 aspect ratio

Criterion Release 2007

Director/Writers

Screenplay by Claude Berri, Gérard Brach with the collaboration of Michel Rivelin.

Berri was 33 when he directed The Two of Us.

The Film

The Two of Us is an extraordinary film in so many ways.

To begin with, there is not a false moment, even the slightest hint of artifice, in the entire film. This is amazing for any film, let alone a debut feature for a young Jewish French kid who had only just come on the scene with a wonderful award-winning short — Le poulet (see below).

Add to that, the good fortune to snare the great Michel Simon (Grampa), winding down a magnificent career, along with discovering eight-year-old Alain Cohen for the role of Claude Langmann, renamed Longuet, in order to disguise his Jewishness.

So many audaciously delightful moments for a first-time director, like the scene when Grampa is pushing Claude on a swing, and with a gorgeous edit, suddenly Claude is pushing Grampa.

All of the actors are superb: Charles Denner and Zorica Lozic in the early scenes as Claude’s parents; Luce Fabiole as the delightful Grandma, who so lovingly puts up with her truculent husband.

Based on true events of Berri’s own childhood.

**

Georges Delerue’s score is pitch-perfect, never intrusive; DP Jean Chiabaut perfectly captures the mood of the seemingly peaceful countryside.

Film Rating (0-60):

56

The Extras

The Booklet

Thirty-two page booklet featuring essays by David Sterritt, François Truffaut and Berri.

Sterritt:

“As usual, François Truffaut knew exactly what made a great film great. For twenty years, he wrote in 1967, he had been waiting for ‘the real film’ about the Nazi occupation of France, showing the French majority ‘who were involved neither in the collaboration nor the Resistance, who did nothing, either good or bad,’ except survive. And that’s what he found in Claude Berri’s witty, intelligent comedy-drama The Two of Us, which he placed among a handful of important films that ‘seek to conquer truth.’”

Truffaut:

“There were several ways Berri could have constructed his film. It could have been heartbreaking, à la De Sica; pseudopoetic à la Bourguignon; thematic, à la Cayatte. In all three cases, it would have been odious. Instead it is alive and droll, free of presuppositions, distrusting of all humanisms — an ‘abhumanist’ film, as Jacques Audiberti (whom we miss more each day) would have said.”

Berri:

“One morning, I went to a Hebrew school in the 16th arrondissement [with my second assistant]. I had permission from the principal to go into the classrooms and look at the students’ faces. I interrupted a class, which caused a ruckus. I quietly explained the reason for my visit to the teachers, but I said nothing to the students, which intrigued them. One particular unruly child caught my attention. But at first glance I found him truly ugly, with his big ears sticking out and his hooked nose and his yarmulke on his little head. I myself had been a good-looking child. I visited other classes, but no face really caught my eye. I decided to go take another look at the ugly boy. As I came to his classroom, I found him in the hall: he was so rowdy that his teacher threw him out. We talked. He turned out to be so alert, so intelligent, that I didn’t find him ugly anymore. Just the opposite. He had an inner light. His grandparents had been deported. His father, an architect, had built the synagogue on the Rue Copernic. His mother would later direct the Jewish memorial. He’s 100 percent kosher. His name is Alain Cohen. No one else could have played the child.”

Commentary 

None.

Le poulet (1962)

Director Berri’s Oscar-winning short film.

Deserving its recognition, three wonderful actors carry the short, not including the chicken …

Video interviews

With Berri and actor Cohen.

Interviews

From 1967 with Berri and Simon.

Excerpt

From The Jewish Children of Occupied France, a 1975 French talk-show segment featuring Berri and the woman who helped secure his family’s safety during World War II.

Original theatrical trailer

Extras Rating (0-40):

36

56 + 36 =

92

By Director
By Spine #