Review of The Cousins (1959) by Matthew S — 27 Jul 2015
Claude Chabrol's deceptively simple story of two very different cousins is not so powerful because of the plot -- which packs a feeling of Hitchcock in the most passive of ways. The power of this film is the artistic manner in which we see (and feel) the film unfold.
There is always a bit of debate regarding if this or Truffaut actually made the first of La Nouvelle Vague films. In the end, that doesn't matter.
At it's time, no one had seen a move this realistic and oddly provocative. It still carries an odd sense of "new-ness" about it.
The clash of a country mouse and his hipster cousin is as much a societal critique as it is an aggressive bit of dark humor manipulation of cinema.
There will only ever be one Claude Chabrol. This may not be his finest film, but it manages to capture almost all of the elements that make him a truly film genius.
This review of The Cousins (1959) was written by Matthew S on 27 Jul 2015.
The Cousins has generally received positive reviews.
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