Jean-Jacques Annaud

  • La guerre du feu [Quest for Fire] (1981)

    La guerre du feu [Quest for Fire] (1981)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On TV, January 2021) Director Jean-Jacques Annaud’s filmography is filled with unusual projects, but you could argue that he still hasn’t topped La guerre du feu in terms of high concept. Set in prehistoric times 80,000 years ago, it’s a film with exclusively grunted dialogue not meant to be readily understood. The protagonists are trying to find a source of fire after theirs is extinguished—but the quest proves to be an excuse to explore a very different world. This is the earliest-set film I can remember seeing: Alpha and The Clan of the Cave Bear are comparatively modern films by being set 20,000 years ago, while 10,000 BC self-identifies as the youngest of the bunch. The characters don’t have the social graces we take for granted, so the film can veer into rough sex sequences as quickly as violent scenes. While Ron Perlman is recognizable (in a bit of genius casting), fans of Rae Dawn Chong will have a harder time recognizing her—or having any fun at her somewhat difficult character journey. But then again everyone is grimy, dirty, violent and uncultured here: even as a not-entirely-fact-based depiction of early humans, La guerre du feu is a reminder that education and knowledge, more than biology, is what separates us from early humans. I just wish that the film would be more interesting than its premise—at 100 minutes with no understandable dialogue, the film can often feel exasperating and the blunt portrayal of violence can be tiresome as well. I often refer to films as primitive forms of time travel, but La guerre du feu is in one period of (pre)history that you don’t necessarily want to visit for very long. It’s an achievement all right (and a proud Canadian co-production as well), but I would have a hard time considering it fun.

  • The Name of the Rose (1986)

    The Name of the Rose (1986)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On DVD, September 2019) It’s been decades since I’ve read Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose and I certainly didn’t understand much of it at the time—it’s the kind of novel with so much depth that it obscures its own narrative strengths through an excess of detail. Fortunately, writer-director Jean-Jacques Annaud’s film adaptation wisely knows what to keep and what to simplify. The result is a surprisingly engaging story of murder, inquisition, books, sex, and hidden labyrinths set in a fourteenth-century monastery … featuring a medieval version of Sherlock Holmes. Sean Connery is splendid as the protagonist, a contemporary mind stuck in the dark ages, whose gravelly wisdom only breaks into giddiness within a library. (Ah, a character after my own heart!)  A still-impressive support cast rounds The Name of the Rose, with Michael Lonsdale and F. Murray Abraham being their usual selves, and early but substantial roles for both Christian Slater and Ron Perlman. Still, it’s the plot that takes centre stage, what with a murder investigation conducted very much against the leaders of the abbey, and a merciless inquisitor taking matters in his own hands. It’s a heady mixture, and the film never gets any better than when the characters break into a hidden library broken up in a maze. Annaud may have stripped much of the extraneous meta-semiotic material, but enough cleverness remains to make The Name of the Rose a superior thriller—more ambitious, decidedly more atmospheric and certainly more interesting than most.

  • Black Gold aka Day of the Falcon (2011)

    Black Gold aka Day of the Falcon (2011)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (Video on Demand, June 2013) If you feel that there’s been a dearth of desert-adventure films out there, then take heart in Day of the Falcon’s existence and enjoy a trip to 1930s Arabia for an old-fashioned epic.  Tahar Rahim stars as Prince Auda, a bookworm son who eventually learns to lead an army and uphold progressive values at a time when the West is taking an interest in the oil reserves under the sand.  A co-production involving four countries, Day of the Falcon has a decent budget and a refreshingly earnest viewpoint toward traditional values in the face of western imperialism.  Directed with competence by veteran French filmmaker Jean-Jacques Annaud, the film can be enjoyed for its epic scope, interesting visuals and sympathetic characters.  It’s hardly perfect: there are a few pacing issues, and as much as I like Mark Strong and Antonio Banderas, casting them as warring emirs feels like a bit of a wasted opportunity for ethnicity-appropriate actors.  (The same goes, to a lesser extent, for Freida Pinto, except that she’s sultry enough to make anyone believe that the hero would wage all-out war simply in order to come back home to her.)  Historical parallels with the early days of Saudi Arabia are interesting (albeit not to be taken at face value) and so is the obvious commentary on the dominance of the oil industry in the region.  Parallels with Lawrence of Arabia are obvious, especially considering that the film offers a few desert-war sequences not commonly seen elsewhere in movies.  The stilted dialogues and acting definitely take a back seat to sweep of the film’s adventure.  For a film that probably flew under the radar of most north-American moviegoers, Day of the Falcon definitely qualifies as an underappreciated gem.