User Reviews

The second version of a famous novel,the first one was made in the silent age .The special effects are successful for the time and the scene when the "baddie" is killed by an army of automatons deserves all your undivided attention even today.The automatons are the raison d'être of the movie which would be undistinguished without them ,considering the paucity of the screenplay: a young Polish Joan Of Arc (that's how her enemy calls her)wants her homeland to be free and to get rid of the Russian yoke .It was the time of Catherine The Second (played by Françoise Rosay who in her first appearance looks like a man) who is rather clever in Dreville's work ,quoting a French philosopher such as Voltaire and making a fool of her favorite Potemkine.The chess player scenes are well directed and the automaton(?)has something sinister about him.

An ageing aristocrat is widely known for his clever automatons. Thanks to his genius and his richly-appointed workshop, he can create almost everything : ballerinas, clowns, soldiers. On a personal level, he tries to take care of some young charges. When these charges become involved in a battle for the freedom and independence of Poland, he gets into very hot water indeed...

The game of chess can be used as a metaphor for various pursuits : a battle of wits between friends, for instance, or an amorous conquest. Here it is used - and used to great effect - as a metaphor for warfare, heavily muscled "diplomacy" and political intrigue. It is also used as a metaphor for inhumanity and dehumanization, with ambitious rulers (chief among them Catherine the Great) treating individuals, regions and countries as mere pawns on a board. And Catherine is a fearsome chess player, capable of predicting two, three, four moves...

It is hard to describe the movie - perhaps "a political satire clothed in some of the trappings of fairytale and fantasy" would do best, although I wouldn't object to "a richly embroidered historical epic that mixes fact and fiction" or "a dark parable about Man's tendency to use his brain for mischief". Whatever it is, it is an unusual, exceptional movie which lingers in the mind.

A number of factors contribute to its success. First, there is an exceptionally clever intrigue. Secondly, there is some riveting acting going on, with Françoise Rosay (as Catherine) and Jacques Grétillat (as Potemkine) stealing the show. They give the viewer two intriguing creations : an highly intelligent ruler so sly and calculating that she could eat ten Italian Renaissance princes for breakfast, plus a simple, hearty, bluff soldier of the kind that knows every Central and Eastern European exchange rate by heart. Their unholy relationship is a joy, as is the deeply cynical dialogue which accompanies it. (He : "If you flirt with that young popinjay, it's all over between us !" She : "See you tomorrow morning.")

So where was I ? Oh yes, it should also be noted that the movie must have cost the Earth. Every franc of the budget is out there on the screen and the result is jaw-dropping. Barring the discovery of time travel, this is the closest that you're ever going to get to a Russian court occasion, complete with an empress in full sail. These beautiful costumes are also used to get a grin or a smile. For instance, there is a female dancer said to inflame the senses with racy performances. When the viewer does get to see one of these ooh la la performances, it turns out that the dancer moves around in a charming fashion, dressed in a garment so ample and cumbersome that one barely sees an ankle...

By now you will have guessed that the movie, for all its wit and imagination, contains a significant part of darkness. What makes it even more poignant - and more relevant - is its timing : it was made shortly before the outbreak of World War II. "Homo homini lupus", indeed...