Falbalas [dir. Jacques Becker]

Prior to watching Falbalas, I'd only seen Jacques Becker's Le Trou aka The Hole, his jailbreak drama which engrossed me thoroughly (reviewed HERE). I have also heard a lot of good word about his crime drama Touchez pas au grisbi. What I liked about Becker was that his work seemed to cover a variety of genres.

Falbalas (translated as Paris Frills) is a drama set in the Parisian fashion world. Raymond Rouleau (who reminds me of a young Michael Redgrave) is haute couture designer Philippe Clarence who periodically refreshes his fashion catalog...and his love life. Devoted solely to his art, Philippe is a cad who throws over a woman with little compunction once his interest is exhausted. The only constant woman in his life is his business partner, the elderly Mme Solange (Gabrielle Dorziat). Micheline (Micheline Presle) is the latest girl to catch his fancy. The fact that she is fiancee to his friend Daniel (Jean Chevrier) does not stop Philippe from making advances. When after being seduced by his attentions Micheline expresses her intention to break off her engagement with Daniel, Philippe squirms out of commitment, proposing a "friends with benefits" arrangement. Realizing his inner nature Micheline gives him the cold shoulder, which in turn rekindles his desire, and he begins to pursue her again.

There are a couple of things that make Falbalas stand out from the usual melodrama. The first is the immersive recreation of the fashion world in its depiction of Philippe's studio. The same dedication to verisimilitude that made Le Trou remarkable is also seen here. We go behind the scenes with the army of seamstresses and assistants that translate the designer's vision into reality; the film contrasts their conventional nature to the bohemian artist's personality. Also, Becker is not afraid to take the melodrama darker places. When Philippe resumes his pursuit of Micheline, his harsh uncaring words condemn his factotum and former lover Anne-Marie (Françoise Lugagne) to a cruel fate. Despite her spurning of his "friendship" offer, Micheline finds her physical passions aroused by Philippe, and she can no longer reconcile to marriage with Daniel. Philippe's obsession eventually descends into a spiral of madness that takes us back to the image of death we see at the beginning of the film.

There are several scenes where Becker shows his penchant for building tension. A wonderful example is when Micheline, after her betrayal by Philippe, comes home to a table-tennis game played by her family and refereed by fiance Daniel. Pestered mid-match by questions about the upcoming marriage, she remains silent, only following the ball's back-and-forth with her eyes until she can't bear it anymore and breaks down. Towards the end, an increasingly distraught Philippe locks himself up from the world, intently studying his mannequin draped with the wedding gown he had designed for Micheline, seeing it come alive in her likeness - this is more in the territory of Gothic fantasy. There are some snazzy visuals too - early on, the camera accompanies Philippe as he descends in the elevator while speaking out at Daniel. While not a masterpiece, Falbalas is an engaging feature that shows Becker (who also helmed Casque d'or and Touchez pas au grisbi) to be more than a maker of crime dramas.

A brief word on the UK blu-ray of Falbalas from Studio Canal, available either individually or as part of an Essential Becker boxed collection.:

Video-wise the transfer is strong, with good contrast and grayscale. The sound (DTS-HDMA 2.0 mono) I felt lacked presence - whether it is a limitation of the source elements or aggressive filtration, I can't say. It's still okay, if you raise the volume. The optional English subtitles are clean and easy to read. Extras include a half-hour featurette with Becker's son Jean talking about the film, an interview with star Micheline Presle and a featurette about the film's influence on fashion designer Jean-Paul Gaultier. On the whole Falbalas was a lovely way to start off the Becker box. I'm looking forward to the other films.