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Cult Review
Senior Film Conservator
You probably shouldn't watch Le rebelle unless you are a total nerd for the 1930s. It is a bit of a relic. If you are looking for a fast-paced thriller, stay away.
This is mostly for people who want to see Pierre Batcheff in something that isn't a surrealist fever dream. Or people who just like the sound of old French film grain.
It’s actually a French version of an American movie called The Virtuous Sin. Back then, they didn't have good dubbing, so they just filmed the whole script again with a different cast. It feels very static.
The camera is basically bolted to the floor. The actors seem afraid to move too far to the left or right. It’s like they’re worried they will fall off the edge of the world.
The story is simple enough. Victor is a scientist who gets dragged into the war. He is not good at taking orders.
He insults a superior and gets sentenced to death. It’s a very 'movie' situation. Then his wife, Marya, decides to save him.
She goes to the General’s house to 'persuade' him. Suzy Vernon plays the wife, and she has these massive eyes that look like they’ve seen way too much coffee.
The General is played by Thomy Bourdelle. He has a mustache that looks like it has its own zip code. He spends most of the movie looking at Marya like she is a particularly tasty piece of cake.
One scene in the General's office feels like it lasts an eternity. They just talk and talk. You can hear the hiss of the early audio track in the background.
It’s almost hypnotic if you don’t fall asleep first. It reminded me a bit of L'enfant de l'amour in how theatrical everything feels.
Pierre Batcheff is the main reason to even bother with this. He has this nervous energy that doesn't quite fit the stiff directing. He looks like he wants to jump out of the frame.
Maybe he realized the script wasn't great. Or maybe he just missed being in movies with more eyeballs being sliced open.
The movie tries to be serious about war and sacrifice. But it is hard to take it seriously when the General looks so bored by his own power.
It is definitely better than some other stuff from that era, like The Dust of Egypt which was a total disaster. But it’s not exactly a masterpiece.
I wonder what the American version was like with Walter Huston. He probably had more 'oomph' than the guy here.
The ending happens so fast you might miss it if you blink. It is like the crew realized they only had five minutes of film left and just packed it in.
One thing I noticed was the shadows. Sometimes the shadows of the microphones are visible on the wall behind the actors. It’s a very human mistake.
I kind of liked that part. It makes the movie feel more real, even if the acting is totally staged.
The movie is called Le rebelle, but nobody really rebels that much. It’s mostly just people talking in dusty rooms about things they are going to do.
It’s a bit like Chantage in that way. Lots of talking, not much doing. But it has a certain charm if you like that sort of thing.
I don’t regret watching it, but I probably won’t watch it again. It’s a 1930s time capsule. Nothing more, nothing less.
If you've already seen Le Paradis Perdu and want more vintage French vibes, give it a go. Otherwise, you can probably skip this and not miss anything important.
The sets look like they were made of cardboard. I think I saw one wobble when someone closed a door too hard.
Anyway, it’s an okay way to spend 70 minutes if you have nothing else to do on a rainy Tuesday. Just don't expect it to change your life.
The lighting is really inconsistent. One shot is dark, the next is like the sun is sitting inside the room. It’s charming in a 'we don't know what we're doing yet' kind of way.
Final thought? It's fine. Really. But also? Incredibly dull if you aren't a film historian.
IMDb 5.3
1930
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