Mado

This is a great movie by a major, if somewhat under-recognized, director. I hope that Amazon will acquire more of Sautet's films.

[MADO - (1976) - directed by Claude Sautet - in French with English subtitles] Quintessential European star and national treasure Michel Piccoli portrays Simon, a wealthy middle-aged businessman who co-owns a company that is rapidly becoming insolvent due to the reckless spending habits, fuzzy accounting records and considerable debt amassed by his partner Julien. To make matters worse, the notes he's borrowing are being held by a notoriously unscrupulous businessman, Lepidon, with ties to organized crime. His racket is to lend enough notes of debt until they can't be repaid timely, then allowing his lawyers to issue letters of demand, and when repayment can't be made, negotiating a take over of the company with low-ball bids that amount to pennies on the dollar of the company's true worth, causing financial ruin to those who forged the companies with the sweat off their backs and the blood of their toils. Its another fine example of Capitalism at its finest kids. Upon disclosure of these activities and overcome with guilt, Julien ends up committing suicide. Simon and his father, who is a partner as well, gather their attorneys to assess the damages, and it's none too pretty a picture. In fact, it makes a Goya painting look like a Georgia O'Keefe watercolor. They begin selling assets to make the note payments, but still come up short. At the same time, Simon, who's divorced, is going through a mid-life crisis, and has a quasi-relationship with Mado, a 'working girl' in her early twenties he sees several times a week. Her demeanor reminds him that the women of today aren't the compliant creatures he recalls from his youth. They share a group of acquaintances, some personal, some professional, so their social lives overlap periodically, and sometimes a bit too often. He confides in her about his predicament, and she soon hatches a plan to aid Simon so he doesn't lose control of his company and the last of his finances. It involves gathering evidence against Lepidon, a bit of blackmail and a possible unexpected outcome. While it may sound like a crime drama or thriller, this is strictly a character-driven tale rather than a plot-driven one, so fans of action will be sorely depressed, but those spectators who can immerse themselves in a pool of absorbing, well-drawn characters with personal ticks, traumas and a will to go forward and employ the cards they've been dealt to play with should find this film deserving of their time and attention. It's amusing how foul weather plays an important role in the fourth act as we witness the characters nearly drowning in dilemma and simultaneously drawn to one another for reasons not altogether explained, just as in life. They laugh, they cry, they fret, they play, they move on and Simon finally confronts a crossroads he's avoided for quite some time. Michel Piccoli is excellent, as always, as is Ottavia Piccolo as the resourceful and enigmatic Mado. There's also a small role by the deliciously yet tragic Romy Schneider that I wish was fleshed out more, but I'll take her any way I can. Director Claude Sautet chooses an austere, neo-classic style of shooting here, allowing us to concentrate more on those in front of the camera than the person behind it. Aficionados of French drama with a neorealist 70's vibe, a dash of clever cynicism and a pinch of pathos will find themselves enrapt; all else should approach with caution.

In the seventies you could only see movies in movie theatres and not every movie was shown. With internet you can search and reed about good movies.

When I wished to watch this disc it stopped after 115 min - so now I 'll never know how it ends.

A bit dated but still. a good story

The portrait of a dynamic tranche of French society in the seventies with its passions and fears.

Achtung: Dies ist eine gekürzte Version des Klassikers (es fehlen fast 15 Min.). Die DVD hat eine Laufzeit von 120 Min. und nicht wie auf der Webseite mit die 135 Min. angegeben !!! Wer den Film "ganz" sehen möchte kann in den States bei Amazon die Kinofassung mit engl. Untertitel bestellen.

il Dvd è arrivato in modo veloce, con una busta protettiva, devo dire ben confezionato e ancora nel suo cellofan.

Magnifique Sautet, peu connu, probablement à cause du choix d'Ottavia Picolo, très jolie mais sans réel charisme. Surtout quand Romy S apparait... Elle n'a que trois scènes mais la beauté et la puissance de son jeu est sans limite. A côté d'elle tous sont parfait. Si vous aimez Sautet, vous y retrouverez ses thèmes, ses pluies extraordinaires, les bars, les copains... On ne s'en lasse pas ! gabriel

Sautet ha la rara dote di riuscire a mescolare i lati drammatici con quelli comici della vita con la misura giusta, senza inutili appesantimenti. Uno dei suoi lavori più riusciti in questo senso è "Tre amici, le mogli e (affettuosamente) le altre". Parecchi suoi film si distinguono per la grazia con cui narrano fatti di ogni giorno, come "Nelly e Monsieur Arnaud". E' insomma tra i migliori registi francesi della seconda metà del secolo scorso. Sautet ha il dono raro di saper dosare drammaticità e comicità quasi

„Mado" ist einer der besten Sautet-Filme und dennoch einer der wenigen, die kein Hit wurden. Ende der Neunziger hat dieser großartige Regisseur, „Gigant des europäischen Films", sein filmisches Lebenswerk noch einmal gesichtet und bearbeitet. Die schnitt unter anderem rigoros zehn Minuten aus der ursprünglichen Kinofassung von „Mado" heraus. Die französische DVD zeigt diese verkürzte Form, die bei Universal zeigt die alte Verleihausgabe von „Mado" zweisprachig. „Mado" spielt im Jahre 1976. Das war die Zeit der ersten Wirtschaftskrise nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg. In diesem wohl politischsten Film von Sautet, zeigt er ein breites, beeindruckendes Gesellschaftsbild der von der Krise betroffenen Bevölkerungsschichten auf. Der Film beginnt mit einer Sexszene, in der Michel Piccoli mit der jungen Hure „Mado" schläft. Er liebt diese Mado (Ottavia Piccolo) und möchte sie nur für sich haben. Das will Mado jedoch nicht. Als dann schließlich auch die Geschäfte in dem Bauunternehmen von Piccoli Not leidend werden, verschafft Mado ihm die Verbindung zu einem Mann, der das Unternehmen retten soll. Doch nun nimmt das große Drama seinen schicksalhaften Lauf. Es ist in der Mitte des Films, da besucht Piccoli die Alkohol abhängige Schwester seines neuen Partners. Jetzt erfolgt der Kurzauftritt - es sind gerade einmal sieben Minuten- von Romy Schneider. Romy ist so schön wie nie zuvor. Doch spätestens nach dieser eindrucksvollen Szene kann die Gewissheit erlangen, dass alles nicht gut enden wird. Beeindruckend bei Sautet sind die tragischen Personen, ja häufig ein wahres Labyrinth von Personen, die er in verschiedenen Alltagsszenarien auftreten lässt. Er mischt dazu eine Portion von zärtlicher, tiefer Leidenschaft und emotionaler Intelligenz. Er lässt Figuren in seinen Filmen auftreten, die einem bekannt vorkommen und dem Zuschauer Vertrauen einflößen. Und häufig fallen seine Filme wie auch bei „Mado" in eine "schmeichelnde, samtene Dunkelheit".