Sundays and Cybele (1962)

"Sundays and Cybele" is a film that would be very, very difficult to make today. Even back in the early 1960s, folks were probably a bit uneasy about the plot...especially since it did seeem to POSSIBLY hint at pedophilia. Today, with a greater awareness of these issues, I really think it couldn't be made today...at least without some major revisions.Hardy Kruger plays Pierre, a pilot with a bad case of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. He has huge gaps in his memory, is occasionally explosive and is quite sullen. However, when he meets a sad girl being taken to an orphanage, his life completely changes. Through some odd coincidences, the orphanage thinks HE is the child's father and since he feels sorry for her, he begins seeing her on visiting days (hence the Sunday in the title). However, much of their time together is spend not as father and child but almost like lovers...and the child talks out loud about marrying Pierre when she is older.Oddly, Pierre does not tell his girlfriend about this situation and when she finds out, she is not enraged or worried that he might be a pedophile. She observes the pair covertly during one of his visits and thinks they are good for each other. However, all this comes to a tragic ending at Christmas when Pierre's behaviors get a bit goofy (even for him) and the police get involved.This is a very well made but slow film. The cinematography is often quite interesting--particularly with its use of keyhole-style shots. As for the story...as I mentioned it is very slow and often made me feel uncomfortable. I think it was worse for me because I used to be a therapist who worked with sexual abuse victims and the strange relationship between the pair seemed pretty consistent with some pedophiles and the way they groom their victims. Still, if you can somehow ignore this (and that would be tough), the story has some interesting aspects. Not a bad film at all...but a rather disturbing one.By the way, I have no idea why Hardy Kruger (a German actor) was chosen to play Pierre...a Frenchman. It did seem odd.

In my view, the reason why this Foreign Language Oscar-winning film is mostly forgotten today is not because it is, as the late British critic Leslie Halliwell opined as early as 1977, "a fashionable film of its time which now has little to offer" but because its director is, unenviably, the veritable cinematic embodiment of a 'one hit wonder'. Unsurprisingly, the accolades which accompanied SUNDAYS AND CYBELE opened for its undeniably talented director Serge Bourguignon the doors of Hollywood but, perhaps just as predictably, his work there never amounted to much and, sadly, 7 years and 3 films later, he dropped completely out of sight and mind. For the record, I did get to see his first Hollywood foray THE REWARD (1965; with Max von Sydow and Gilbert Roland) which, indeed, promised much but delivered very little and, for what it's worth, his next 2 ventures – TWO WEEKS IN September (1967; with Brigitte Bardot and Laurent Terzieff) and THE PICASSO SUMMER (1969; with Albert Finney and Yvette Mimieux) – while also seemingly interesting are, by all accounts, respectively bland and boring!Anyway, the strikingly-directed SUNDAYS AND CYBELE deservedly beat notable competitors like Michael Cacoyannis' ELEKTRA and Nanni Loy's THE FOUR DAYS OF NAPLES (both of which I also own but, so far, am only familiar with the former) at the Oscars, with its moving and, ultimately, tragic story of a misunderstood friendship between an amnesiac 30-year old fighter pilot (Hardy Kruger) and an abandoned, precocious 12-year old schoolgirl (Patricia Gozzi); Maurice Jarre's score was also, rather unaccountably, nominated for an Oscar – in view of the fact that it makes copious use of classical pieces and Gregorian chants. Over the film's opening credits, Kruger is shown mowing down a child during an air raid – a traumatic event which left him so guilt-ridden that the vile abandonment of the little girl by her father at a railway station is unbearable to him…to the extent that he impulsively takes to impersonating him every Sunday, picking her up at her convent school and going on afternoon outings in the woods. Meanwhile, Kruger is being cared for and lives with his nurse (Nicole Courcel) and has bonded with a friendly sculptor (Daniel Ivernel) who, while appreciating the soothing effect the meetings with Gozzi are having on Kruger, also fear that his violent mood swings may eventually endanger the girl. Events come to a head during an enforced wedding party and the subsequent visit to a fairground and, especially, the fatal intervention of the nurse's jealous colleague who brings in the Police when Kruger goes missing on Christmas Eve. As I intimated earlier, the potential sentimentality of the story is kept admirably at bay by the ultra-stylish handling and excellent performances all round; conversely, the main flaws of the film, are a rather deliberate pace and a slightly misjudged ending: while I found the choice to have Kruger's demise occur offscreen effective, I think it would have been even more so had Kruger fallen to his death while trying to steal the all-important (to Gozzi) weathercock off the church steeple rather than being shot dead by the Police for approaching Gozzi with a knife clasped in his hand! The print I saw was a serviceable but very battered one (extremely soft, with a virtually inexistent blackscale and the hard-coded white subtitles occasionally unreadable when appearing against the snowy landscape) – which again points to the unfortunate neglect this film has been subjected to over the years.

I'm the first French user to write about "Cybèle ou Les Dimanches de Ville D'Avray".Serge Bourguignon's work belongs to that handful of movies the reputation of which is much more considerable abroad than in their native country .And when I write "much more" ,I mean it .Other examples are "Au Coeur de la Vie/La Rivière Du Hibou aka Occurrence at Owl Bridge Creek " by Robert Enrico,"Kapo" by Pontecorvo -made with French money and featuring French actors-or "Le Ballon Rouge" by Albert Lamorisse.French TV has not screened it for decades, not even the cultural channel,Arte .It's not available on DVD either.General critic opinion towards the movie adds up to a consensus that ,well,it's OK ,moving,but it's artificial (sic) poetry and mannered cinematography (and nevertheless,it's Henri Decae's).In France ,"Cybèle" is slowly but inexorably falling into oblivion.One should add that it was released when the notorious Nouvelle Vague was ruling and the fusty Cahiers du Cinema were the holy writ and all those who were not part of the young Turks were dismissed as cheesy."Cybèle" is perhaps not the masterpiece many people hail abroad,but it's an unique extremely endearing film ,better than 90% of the French movies which were made here in the early sixties.Hardy Kruger,a German actor whose French is perfect is one of the most sensitive thespians of his generation :I urge people who liked his performance to try and see "Le Franciscain de Bourges" where he plays a Nazi priest,a saint in a living Hell ;he refused any fee to play that character.Such is this man! Kruger portrays here a man who suffers from amnesia because of the horrible things he had to do during the war.He is desperately in need of a past.And it makes sense that his journey leads him to childhood.When you are desperate yourself,don't you think of the days when you were a child?Françoise/Cybèle has a -sad- past,but when her father left her,she hasn't got a future anymore.Pierre means everything to her: her father,her playmate,her husband (when you're 36,I'll be 18 ,we will get married!).I've rarely seen a film where two people need each other so bad.Only Carlos(Daniel Ivernel) ,a friend, has understood.Neither the clairvoyant nor the shrink (André Oumansky)with his overblown theories ("He killed a little girl in the war,he'll do it again just to get punished!")can enter their world.Because there are two worlds: the world of childhood,with the long walks in the landscapes where the trees and the lakes gain another dimension,the games ,the songs ("Aux Marches du Palais" being par excellence a magic tale of an enchanted country where 'the king's horses could drink in the river which flows in the middle of the "so beautiful (=si belle) girl's so wide bed ") and of course Christmas .The adult world is hostile,it means a return to mediocrity, to a stark present (the wedding meal is the best example).It's not a coincidence if the two worlds collide at the fair in the bumper cars !Let's not forget the stunning soundtrack ,using profane (the Greek Goddess)and sacred music ,French folk songs , noises which recall Musique Concrète (Pierre cannot stand noises) whispering voices -which contrast with the girl's scream: this scream is harrowing ,that of a wounded animal ,the final scream,so to speak.-Serge Bourguignon could be said to have started his career at the top and worked his way down.Called by Hollywood,he made a... western which sank without a trace ,then directed Brigitte Bardot in the doomed " A Coeur Joie" (1967).It's extraordinary he fell so quickly after the golden start with "Cybèle" .

A remarkable film with an astonishing capacity to touch your heart and open your mind. A refreshingly original story that doesn't lapse into exploiting potentially "adult" themes.Hardy Kruger succeeds in taking you with his character into his child like view of the world (caused by shell shock in Indochine). Patricia Gozzi is a rare child actress whose performance is completely free of the usual self-conscious effort found in recent films. Entire cast is strong.The black and white cinematography is amongst the best I've ever seen. The camera seems remarkably aware of textures and temperatures. Some images are reminiscent of Ansel Adams' silver gelatin prints. Don't miss any opportunity to see this rare gem of a film. The characters, stories and images will follow you for a long, long time. It will make you wish that Director Serge Bourguignon had a much longer filmography.