Change Your Image
larryholliday
Reviews
The Proprietor (1996)
Jeanne Moreau makes this a worthy film
The mature and beautiful Jeanne Moreau makes this film worth more than a footnote or a curiosity in her filmography. The interplay between Moreau and Nell Carter is funny and moving. While there are transitions that are not as smooth or well written as they could be, this movie resonates with those of us who have reached "a certain age."
Though not all of us have the opportunity to revisit our pasts, we each manufacture the imagery that we carry with us for our lifetimes. Those of us who are lucky enough to get a chance to revisit our youth are often rudely awakened to the reality that the imagery we have carried with us is not necessarily reality.
This touching story involves a successful novelist, Moreau, who late in life decides to return to her Parisian roots. It is about her departure from New York, where she has been living since the war (WWII) and her return to Paris after 50 years. It is in the remembrance of her mother and the realizations of what actually happened to her as a child during the war that are the heart of this movie.
While there are unnecessary sub-plots, even these diversions give the director, Ismael Merchant, an opportunity to cinematically present Paris at its most lovely.
I consider this a very good movie with yet another brilliant and controlled performance by the incomparable Moreau. There are some very interesting character roles including Jean Pierre Aumont. The cinematography is lovely!