Review of Le Beau Serge (1959) by Adam S — 02 Oct 2011

3: Wow, I did not realize this was Chabrol's first feature film and yet another candidate for what could be termed the start of the French Nouvelle Vague. There certainly doesn't seem to be a definite dividing-line where one can definitively say "this is where the movement starts.

" I can't say I'm terribly familiar with Chabrol's work either, as this is only the third, out of 72 total films, of his films I've seen. I certainly has many similarities with a few other directors or films from the Nouvelle vague, but I'd say it most closely resembles the work of Truffaut.

It is a relatively simple and straightforward story that is filmed without any overt flourishes. It's simply an engaging story with characters that we grow to care about. The landscape is bleak, while the lives of those in the film don't appear to be much brighter.

It's an interesting portrayal of what life in a small, dying French countryside village might be like.