Review of Vagabond (1992) by Brent S — 07 Oct 2007
There are very few films in history so dominated by a single performance that it virtually becomes the meaning of the film. "Vagabond" is slow paced and distant, a mirage you keep following aimlessly, but the central performance by Sandrine Bonnaire ranks with Brando in "Streetcar" or "Last Tango", or Deniro in "Taxi driver".
Her soulful charisma becomes the summation of all the film-maker attempts to capture. It's a work of art as performance, a physical and emotionally resonant force that brings to mind silent films in all their mysterious, dreamy magic.
Bonnaire IS the movie. Anybody who has followed her career will see it's no fluke, this French actress dominates every frame she appears in, beautiful in the most unconventional way, she casually inspires total fascination.
Her breakout performance as the troubled daughter in "A nos amours" was unforgettable, profoundly moving, full of despair and invested with a strange sense of dread. This actress touches something primal in her best work and makes it appear somehow modern.
As if she won't let us forget every emotion and feeling comes from a place that cannot be ignored or "wired" away. "Vagabond" is testament to the powerful symbiosis that links character, performer and image.
An alchemy that defies the pop culture demands for bland pretty faces and scrawny, lifeless bodies. Bonnaire, in all her lived in, mistrustful glory, buries them all.
This review of Vagabond (1992) was written by Brent S on 07 Oct 2007.
Vagabond has generally received very positive reviews.
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