Premier de cordée
1944 [FRENCH]
Action / Adventure / Drama

Plot summary
A screen adaptation of the well-known novel by Roger Frison-Roche about the harsh lives of mountain guides and their families in the French Alps, near Chamonix and the French/Swiss/Italian borders... Like his father, Zian Servettaz is a dedicated mountain man. His Italian-born wife Bianca does not adjust well to his mountain village in France, and to the ever life-threatening dangers presented by his mountain guiding and climbing. She briefly returns to Italy and to her family. However, after Zian's insistence and trip to Italy, she returns to mountain life in the French Alps. Once back there, events will unfold, changing their lives as well as those of other mountain people forever.
Director
Top cast
Tech specs
720p.BLU 1080p.BLUMovie Reviews
Higher than the world.
"Fear is like vertigo,we all experience it, those who claim not to know it, are liars or forgetful."
Coming down to the final trio of French films from 1944 that currently have English subtitles,I was intrigued by dbdumonteil's very good review about the outdoor filming aspect,leading to me getting set to climb a mountain.
View on the film:
Over a decade before the first tremor of the French New Wave was felt, co-writer/(with Alexandre Arnoux/Jacqueline Jacoupy & Paul Leclercq) director Louis Daquin is joined by future Rififi (1955-also reviewed) cinematographer Philippe Agostini in leaving the studio behind, and heading to the great outdoors in beautiful wide-shots capturing the mountain landscape.
Backed by a chirping score from Henri Sauguet and stating in the opening credits that "No stuntmen or special effects were used", Daquin impressively moves the heavy camera equipment of the era for spectacular long panning shots following Pierre climbing the rugged terrain under roasting natural light.
When taking a breather from all the mountain climbing, the writers counter the breakout nature of the filming style,with a more traditional, silky Melodrama tale.
Reflecting the rough-edge appearance of the mountains with a fight on the tough masculinity between Pierre (played by a very good, fresh face Andre Le Gall, who replaced Roger Pigaut,after he suffered a serious injury after falling down a crevasse) and his dad, the writers weave the family drama clash with a sly subtext showing support for The French Resistance,in Pierre overcoming all of the towering odds confronting him,and reaching the peak.