View source for Carnival in Flanders (film)

{{short description|1935 film}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Carnival in Flanders
| image          = LaKermesseHéroique.jpg
| caption        = Poster
| director       = [[Jacques Feyder]]
| producer       = [[Pierre Guerlais]]
| writer         = Jacques Feyder<br />[[Charles Spaak]] (story)<br />[[Robert A. Stemmle]]<br />[[Bernard Zimmer]] (dialogue)
| starring       = [[Françoise Rosay]]<br />[[Jean Murat]]<br />[[André Alerme]]
| music          = [[Louis Beydts]]
| cinematography = [[Harry Stradling Sr.]]
| editing        = [[Jacques Brillouin]]
| distributor    = [[Films Sonores Tobis]]
| released       = {{Film date|1935|12|03|France|1936|01|15|Germany|df=y}}
| runtime        = 110 minutes
| country        = France
| language       = French
| budget         =
| gross          =
}}
[[File:Kermesse eroica 1935 rosay+donne Boom.jpg|thumb|Women running the town after receiving the Spanish envoy. ]]
'''''Carnival in Flanders''''' is a 1935 French historical [[romantic comedy]] film directed by [[Jacques Feyder]], and created during the [[poetic realism]] period in 1930s France. It is also widely known under its original title in French,  '''''La Kermesse héroïque'''''. A German-language version of the film was made simultaneously and was released under the title '''''Die klugen Frauen''''', featuring [[Ernst Schiffner]] in one of his early film roles.
==Plot==
In 1616, when [[Spanish Netherlands|Flanders]] is part of the [[Spanish Empire|Hispanic Monarchy]], the town of [[Boom, Belgium|Boom]], in the midst of preparations for its carnival, learns that a Spanish duke with his army is on the way to spend the night there.
Fearing that this will inevitably result in rape and pillage, the mayor &mdash; supported by his town council &mdash; has the idea of pretending to be newly dead, in order to avoid receiving the soldiers.  But his redoubtable wife Cornelia despises this stratagem and organises the other women to prepare hospitality and to adapt their carnival entertainments for the Spaniards (who insist on entering the town anyway). The men of the town grow increasingly paranoid of Spaniards as the women are free to run the stores and inns. The women from the outset take on a new set of sexual liberation in juxtaposition to the rape and pillaging stewed up from the men at the beginning of the film.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Amengual |first=Barthélemy |date=1998 |title=La Kermesse héroïque |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/1895_0769-0959_1998_hos_1_1_1325 |journal=1895, revue d'histoire du cinéma |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=167–172 |doi=10.3406/1895.1998.1325}}</ref>
Such is the warmth of the women's welcome that not only do the Spaniards refrain from misbehaviour, but on their departure the Duke announces a year's remission of taxes for the town.
Cornelia allows her husband to take the credit for their good fortune, but she has in the meantime thwarted his plans for their daughter to marry the town butcher instead of the young painter Brueghel whom she loves.
==Cast==
*[[Françoise Rosay]] as Cornelia de Witte, Madame la Bourgmestre/Madame Burgomaster
*[[André Alerme]] as Korbus de Witte, le bourgmestre/The Burgomaster (as Alerme)
*[[Jean Murat]] as Le duc d'Olivarès/The Duke
*[[Louis Jouvet]] as Le chapelain/The Priest
*[[Lyne Clevers]] as La poissonnière/The Fish-Wife (as Lynne Clevers)
*[[Micheline Cheirel]] as Siska
*Maryse Wendling as La boulangère/The Baker's Wife
*[[Ginette Gaubert]] as L'aubergiste/The Inn-Keeper's Wife
*Marguerite Ducouret as La femme du brasseur/The Brewer's Wife
*[[Bernard Lancret]] as Julien Breughel, a young painter
*[[Alfred Adam]] as Josef Van Meulen, le boucher
*Pierre Labry as L'aubergiste/The Inn-Keeper
*[[Arthur Devère]] as Le poissonnier/The Fishmonger (as Arthur Devere)
*Marcel Carpentier as Le boulanger/The Baker
*[[Alexander D'Arcy]] as Le capitaine/The Captain (as Alexandre Darcy)
*Claude Sainval as Le lieutenant/The Lieutenant (as Claude Saint Val)
*Delphin as Le nain/The Dwarf
==Background and production==
''Carnival in Flanders'' / ''La Kermesse héroïque'' was made by [[Jacques Feyder]] immediately after his dark psychological drama ''[[Pension Mimosas]]'', and he said that he wanted to relax by making a farce, far removed from the present day.  He turned to a short story written at his suggestion ten years earlier by [[Charles Spaak]], set in 17th century Flanders when it was under [[Southern Netherlands|Spanish occupation]]. For the visual style of the film, Feyder wanted to pay tribute to the old masters of his native country &mdash; [[Pieter Bruegel the Elder|Brueghel]], [[Frans Hals]], [[Pieter de Hooch|Pieter de Hoogh]] &mdash; and an elaborate creation of a Flemish town was undertaken (in suburban Paris) by the designer [[Lazare Meerson]].  Sumptuous costumes were provided by Georges K. Benda.<ref>Georges Sadoul. ''Dictionnaire des films'' (Paris: Seuil, 1983), pp.164&ndash;165.</ref> The strong cast included Feyder's wife [[Françoise Rosay]] and [[Louis Jouvet]].
The film was produced by the French subsidiary of the German firm Tobis, and it was made in two versions, French and German, with alternative casts (apart from Françoise Rosay who appeared in both).
== Costume design and designer ==
Georges K. Benda was the main designer for this film, and he went on to work on many French films from the 1930s to the 1950s. Benda was renowned for his attention to historical accuracy and capacity to design visually arresting costumes. However, he had a difficult time designing costumes for "''La Kermesse héroque",'' as it was difficult to accurately represent both the Spanish and Flemish cultures in the film. For the costumes, Benda would have to incorporate historical accuracy as well as including comedic feelings as well. While the uniforms of soldiers are dreary and serious, the uniforms of civilians are brighter and more extravagant. However, the women's costumes are even more elaborate with pronounced features such as voluminous skirts and tight bodices; and many of the costumes feature luxurious trimmings such as ruffles and lace. The Burgomaster's wife wears one of the movie's most memorable outfits. Her outfit is oversized, eye-catching, and perfectly captures the character's personality. The large headdress, which is embellished with ribbons and feathers, would be most recognizable aspect of the outfit. With this headdress, the Burgomaster's wife's already impressive height would be emphasized which made her stand out in a crowd even more. Benda went on to design costumes for other French films, including "''[[Le Million]]''", "''[[Knight Without Armour|Knight Without Armor]]''", and "''[[Koenigsmark (1935 film)|Koenigsmark]]''".{{Citation needed|date=June 2023}}
In "[[Pour Vous]]" magazine issue N. 361, published in 1935, Benda was interviewed and provided insight into his work on the film. The magazine also showed what are believed to be sketches of the design for the costumes that were created by Benda himself. In the article, according to Benda, he states that “fortunately, Feyder had told me about the Kermesse, long before starting his film. That allowed me to gather a number of documents in advance, and so I was able, in six weeks, not only make my four hundred models, but choose the fabrics to perform them.”<ref>Pour-Vous : L'intran : l'hebdomadaire du cinéma. (N0361). Pg 11 https://bib-num.cinemathequetoulouse.fr/collection/item/1108-pour-vous-l-intran-l-hebdomadaire-du-cinema-n0361?offset=</ref>
== Production design ==
[[File:Kermesse eroica 1935 municipio.jpg|thumb|270x270px|The Town of Boom on the Epinay Studio loot ]]
Production designer Lazare Meerson was put in charge of creating the setting for the film. His job included bringing Feyder's vision to life, which was especially challenging for this story, being set several hundred years prior to the film's creation. Meerson took care in building the set from scratch, and, as ''[[National Board of Review|The National Board of Review Magazine]]'' notes, he was able to elegantly contrive an atmosphere true to a 17th century Flanders.<ref>{{cite magazine |author=F. T. P. |date=December 1936 |title=As You Like It |url=https://lantern.mediahist.org/catalog/nationalboardofr1112nati_0154 |magazine=National Board of Review Magazine |publisher=[[National Board of Review of Motion Pictures]] |volume=New movies, the National board of review magazine |page=12 |access-date=2023-04-11 |via=[[Media History Digital Library]] (lantern.mediahist.org)}}</ref> Meerson's set construction and arrangement of set decoration has been widely known for its nods to early Flemish paintings, which is reflected by Siska's love interest, Julien's remarkable artistic talents, as well as the [[Blocking (stage)|blocking]], which carefully mimicked the positioning of these classical works of art. Cornelia is shown at the center of a table heavily reflecting [[Leonardo da Vinci]]'s ''[[The Last Supper (Leonardo)|The Last Supper]],'' supporting the idea that she is the real 'savior' of the town. Furthermore, as noted by [[Dudley Andrew]], Meerson took on many painterly influences to completely recreate the town of Flanders beginning with raw materials, but did so while scaling it down 3/4,<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Andrew |first=Dudley |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv1zm2v0m |title=Mists of Regret: Culture and Sensibility in Classic French Film |date=2021-11-09 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-23944-6 |location=Princeton, New Jersey |page=182 |doi=10.2307/j.ctv1zm2v0m |jstor=j.ctv1zm2v0m |s2cid=243961687}}</ref> further caricaturizing the men of the town. Reported by the ''Motion Picture Review Digest'', the New York Herald Tribune praised Meerson in his talents of vivifying still Flemish paintings, and translating them into moving pictures.<ref>{{Cite book |last=NY Sun |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WfppSxPiB0kC&q=Olga+Preobrazhenskaya+Director |title=Motion Picture Review Digest |date=1936 |publisher=H.W. Wilson Company |volume=1-2 |page=69 |language=en}}</ref>
The scale and detail of the set was achieved by Feyder and Meerson’s insistence to their German financial backers, which led them to dig a canal through the center the [[Epinay Studios]]. The Flemish town was created around the canal using the current day architecture to provide the stylized depth which is Meerson’s trademark.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Andrews |first=Dudley |title=Mists of Regret: Culture and Sensibility in Classic French Films |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=1995 |isbn=0-691-05686-2 |location=New Jersey |pages=182–183 |language=English}}</ref>
== Cinematography ==
The cinematographer for this film was frequent [[Jacques Feyder]] collaborator [[Harry Stradling|Harry Stradling Sr.]] A well-known cinematographer for films such as [[A Streetcar Named Desire (1951 film)|A Streetcar Named Desire]], [[Funny Girl (film)|Funny Girl]], and [[Alfred Hitchcock]]’s [[Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941 film)|Mr. & Mrs. Smith]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=In Memoriam: Harry Stradling, Jr., ASC (1925-2017) - The American Society of Cinematographers (en-US) |url=https://theasc.com/news/in-memorium-harry-stradling-jr-asc-1925-2017 |access-date=2023-04-27 |website=theasc.com}}</ref> He came over to France due to the restrictions to two-reelers,<ref>{{Citation |last1=Kuhn |first1=Annette |title=two-reeler |date=2012-12-20 |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780199587261.001.0001/acref-9780199587261-e-0737;jsessionid=720E55B07AFA7CB174E04D10944D0B43 |work=A Dictionary of Film Studies |access-date=2023-04-27 |publisher=Oxford University Press |language=en |doi=10.1093/acref/9780199587261.001.0001 |isbn=978-0-19-958726-1 |last2=Westwell |first2=Guy}}</ref> or films with a runtime of 20 minutes, in Hollywood. In France he would work on a number of [[Jacques Feyder]]’s films.
Much of the themes of the film are shown through the subtle camerawork Stradling bought to the picture. These range from lines in the set or poles separating the Duke and his wife, showing the audience the distance between the characters. In the imaginary pillaging of the town a wide shot is used to allow the viewer to take in all the destruction but also distance from the violence to keep the sarcastic nature of the sequence intact. The sequence also includes many camera movements such as pans, tilts or tracking shots to hide some of the more extreme acts that are suggested as women are being dragged away. The use of wide shots also aids in reinforcing the idea of a Flemish painting. Shots such as windmills on green pastures or all the activity happening in the town for preparation for the carnival.
Meerson envisioned a middle ground of set design between core to poetic-realism between “realism and stylization” meant to highlight the themes of the film.<ref name=":0" /> Totalization, the ability to show the full scope of a setting and the micro-details contained within comes from Meerson’s detailed set design.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Forbes |first=Jill |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv36xvhcv |chapter=To the Distant Observer |title=Studies in French Cinema: UK perspectives, 1985–2010 |date=2011 |publisher=Intellect Books |isbn=978-1-84150-447-6 |editor-last=Higbee |editor-first=Will |location=Bristol |pages=279–280 |doi=10.2307/j.ctv36xvhcv |s2cid=256747214 |editor-last2=Leahy |editor-first2=Sarah}}</ref> In conjunction to Stradling’s use of shots emphasizing the scale, Meerson’s set combines the architecture of the time such as the church spires to provide a large feeling of the town of Boom.<ref name=":1" />
== Themes ==
Carnival in Flanders satirizes acts of cowardice using the women of the town to foil the men as they hide themselves against what they believe to an invading Spanish army.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Weber |first=Eugen |title=The Hollow Years: France in the 1930s |url=https://archive.org/details/hollowyearsfranc0000webe |url-access=registration |publisher=W.W. Norton & Company |year=1994 |isbn=0-393-03671-5 |edition=First |pages=235 |language=English}}</ref> Other themes include the power dynamics of men and women, passivism does not necessarily mean one has to be a coward, and sexual liberation.
==Reception==
On the strength of its richly detailed tableaux and the confident manner in which Feyder animated his historical farce, the film enjoyed considerable success in France and elsewhere in the world. The film historian Raymond Chirat pointed to the combination of the admirable sets, the splendid costumes, the biting irony of the story, and the quality of the acting which earned the film a cascade of awards, the admiration of the critics, and the support of the public.<ref>Raymond Chirat. ''Le cinéma français des années 30'' (Renan: 5 Continents, 1983), p.34.</ref> [[Georges Sadoul]] referred to "this important work, of exceptional beauty".<ref>Georges Sadoul. ''Le cinéma français'' (Paris: Flammarion, 1962), p.74.</ref> Writing for ''[[The Spectator]]'' in 1936, [[Graham Greene]] gave the film a good review, praising director Feyder for his ability to add "into his ribald story a touch of the genuine, and simple emotion". Comparing the film to [[Restoration prose]], Greene claims that the "photography moves with a fine strut", and summarizes it as "an admirable film, a little obscene like most good comedies, and beautifully acted".<ref>{{cite journal |last= Greene|first= Graham|author-link= Graham Greene|date= 30 October 1936|title= La Kermesse Héroïque/The General Died at Dawn|journal= [[The Spectator]]}} (reprinted in: {{cite book|editor-last= Taylor|editor-first= John Russell|editor-link= John Russell Taylor|date= 1980|title= The Pleasure Dome|url= https://archive.org/details/pleasuredomegrah00gree/page/111|publisher= Oxford University Press|pages= [https://archive.org/details/pleasuredomegrah00gree/page/111 111-112]|isbn= 0192812866}})</ref> Feyder won the Best Director Award at the [[4th Venice International Film Festival]] in 1936.
However, even on its first appearance in 1935 this tale of occupation and cheerful collaboration also caused uneasiness, and the screenwriter [[Henri Jeanson]] deplored the "Nazi inspiration" of the film. It was indeed enthusiastically praised in Germany, and its première in Berlin (15 January 1936) took place in the presence of [[Joseph Goebbels]]. (Yet, a few days after the outbreak of war in 1939, the film was banned in Germany and the occupied countries of Europe, and Jacques Feyder and Françoise Rosay subsequently sought refuge in Switzerland.)<ref>Georges Sadoul. ''Le cinéma français'' (Paris: Flammarion, 1962), p.75.</ref>
It was in Belgium that the film caused greatest controversy, perhaps for the unflattering portrayal of Flemish leaders in the 17th century, or in suspicion of covert references to the German occupation of Belgian territory during the [[First World War]]. At any rate, the release of the film led to brawls in cinemas in [[Antwerp]], [[Ghent]], and [[Bruges]].<ref>Jean-Pierre Jeancolas. ''15 ans d'années trente'' (Paris: Stock, 1983), pp.176&ndash;177.</ref>
In the Netherlands, the release of the film was heavily protested by various fascist and right wing authoritarian groups, who viewed it as an insult to the national history. At the first showing in the Amsterdam [[Tuschinski Theatre]], violent clashes broke out between members of fascist organizations and police.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kuipers |first=Jan |title=Dwepers en dromers |publisher=Walburg Pers |year=2022 |isbn=9789462497948}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |title=Fascistische relschoppers in de Tuschinski | date=10 March 2021 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEwTqXIAr4o |access-date=2023-07-09 |language=en}}</ref>
Even two decades later (1955), its enduring reputation irked [[François Truffaut]] who wrote, in a broadside against so-called 'successful' films: "In this regard, the most hateful film is unarguably ''La Kermesse héroïque'' because everything in it is incomplete, its boldness is attenuated; it is reasonable, measured, its doors are half-open, the paths are sketched and only sketched; everything in it is pleasant and perfect."<ref>François Truffaut. ''The films in my life''; translated by Leonard Mayhew (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1978), p.35.</ref>
Nevertheless, this remains probably the most popular and widely known of Jacques Feyder's films.
==Awards==
* 1936 [[:fr:Grand_prix_du_cinéma_français|Grand Prix du cinéma français]]
* 1936 [[4th Venice International Film Festival]] : Jacques Feyder, best director
* 1936 [[National Board of Review]], USA : best foreign film
* 1937 [[New York Film Critics Circle Awards]] : best foreign film
* 1938 [[Kinema Junpo Awards]] : best foreign film
==Influences==
The film was the basis for an American musical, called ''[[Carnival in Flanders (musical)|Carnival in Flanders]]'', which was produced in 1953.
==Further reading==
* ''L'Avant-scène: cinéma, 26: La Kermesse héroïque''. (Paris: Avant-Scène, 1963). [The film script].
* A. Williams, ''Republic of Images: A History of French Filmmaking'', Harvard University Press, 1992. Intro text for French films in the 1930s.
==References==
{{reflist|2}}
==External links==
* {{IMDb title|id=0026564|title=La Kermesse héroïque}}
* {{tcmdb title|id=724174|title=Carnival in Flanders}}
* {{rotten-tomatoes|id=carnival_in_flanders|title=Carnival in Flanders}}
* [http://filmsdefrance.com/FDF_La_kermesse_heroique_rev.html ''La Kermesse héroïque''] at filmsdefrance
{{Jacques Feyder}}
{{National Board of Review Award for Best Foreign Language Film}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Banned films in Nazi Germany]]
[[Category:French historical comedy films]]
[[Category:1930s historical comedy films]]
[[Category:1935 romantic comedy films]]
[[Category:1935 films]]
[[Category:French black-and-white films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Jacques Feyder]]
[[Category:Films set in Flanders]]
[[Category:Films set in the 1610s]]
[[Category:Films shot in Bruges]]
[[Category:Films shot in Paris]]
[[Category:French multilingual films]]
[[Category:French historical romance films]]
[[Category:French romantic comedy films]]
[[Category:1935 multilingual films]]
[[Category:1930s French-language films]]
[[Category:1930s French films]]
[[Category:Films scored by Louis Beydts]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Charles Spaak]]