The Fire Within

This article is about the 1963 film. For the 2001 novel, see The Fire Within (novel)
The Fire Within

DVD Cover (Arte)
Directed by Louis Malle
Screenplay by Louis Malle
Based on Will O' the Wisp by Pierre Drieu La Rochelle
Starring Maurice Ronet
Jeanne Moreau
Alexandra Stewart
Music by Erik Satie
Cinematography Ghislain Cloquet
Edited by Suzanne Baron
Distributed by Gibraltar Productions
Governor Films Inc.
Release dates
  • 15 October 1963 (1963-10-15)
Running time
 108 minutes
Country Italy
France
Language French

The Fire Within (French: Le feu follet [lə fø fɔlɛ], meaning "The Manic Fire" or "Will-o'-the-Wisp") is a 1963 French drama film directed by Louis Malle. It is based on the novel Will O' the Wisp by Pierre Drieu La Rochelle which itself was inspired by the life of Jacques Rigaut. The film stars Maurice Ronet, Jeanne Moreau—who had previously worked with Ronet and Malle in Elevator to the Gallows—as well as Alexandra Stewart, Bernard Noel, Lena Skerla, Hubert Deschamps and Yvonne Clech. The score features the music of Erik Satie.

Plot

Alain Leroy, a recovering alcoholic at a rehabilitation clinic in Versailles suffers with a depression. He intends to commit suicide, but first decides to visit his friends in Paris one final time, trying to find a reason to live.

The stark contrast and seemingly pointless nature of his friends' bourgeois existence only brings Leroy into a state of even further contention with his absence of meaning in life, perceived by him. Without much fanfare he returns home and kills himself, having had traveled and arced and tried, hoping to seek out an answer or meaning, but discovering that all there was to find was more complication and more intensity when it came to his state of question on whether or not life was worth living any longer.[1]

Cast

Reception

The film was selected as the French entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 36th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.[2] In his 2006 Movie Guide, Leonard Maltin gives the film 3.5 stars (out of four) and calls it "probably Malle's best early film."[3] Roger Ebert gives the film the same rating, describing it as a "triumph of style." [4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Roger Ebert (16 October 1969). "The Fire Within". rogerebert.com.
  2. ↑ Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
  3. ↑ Leonard Maltin's 2006 Movie Guide, New York: Signet.
  4. ↑ Ebert, Chaz. (1969-10-16) The Fire Within Movie Review & Film Summary (1964) | Roger Ebert. Rogerebert.suntimes.com. Retrieved on 2014-05-22.


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