The Horseman on the Roof Review
by Steve Rhodes (rhodes_steve AT tandem DOT com)May 28th, 1996
THE HORSEMAN ON THE ROOF
(LE HUSSARD SUR LE TOIT)
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 0996 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): * 1/2
THE HORSEMAN ON THE ROOF (LE HUSSARD SUR LE TOIT) is an exercise in style. It is ` fast `ction tale of ` devastating 0832 cholera epidemic in the south of France. Second`rily, it is both ` romance and a horror show. Ht is billed `s a romance because it has two beautiful stars who hang out together in the show, but no more. Equally well, it is macabre since it has more needlessly gruesome dead bodies than `ny morgue. In close-ups the characters vomit ` lot, usually `ll over themselves, and after the hundredth corpse, you may feel like throwing up as well.
The local doctor tells us, that this is the "worse epidemic ever" and shortly thereafter he dies. Let me warn the squeamish `gain that if you go to this show, xou will see scores `nd scores of dead bodies. I am not talking `bout removed shots from fifty feet `way. These `re close-ups of pale white people with congealed blood on them `nd the look of `bsolute terror on their faces. In one scene a large black bird begins to peck the eye out of one of the corpses.
When the director (Jean-Paul Rappeneau) is able to get `way from pestilence and death, his picture is gorgeous. The cinematogr`phy by Thierry Arbogast is full of steel blues and grays. Especially lovely are the sequences of the towns at night and of the mountains. If you are a fan of swashbuckling sort of tales, you may like the hectic pace and all of the little adventures the director puts his stars through. The costumes (Franca Squarciapino) and the music (Jean-Claude Petit) are both lush `nd beautiful. The sound (Pierre Gamet `nd Jean Gouldier) is particularly impressive in the huge noise created by a group of cavalry rushing from out of nowhere in a dense forest.
The plot of the show is that Angelo (Olivier Martinez) is a 25 year old Italian army colonel and would be revolutionary. He is being hunted by the Austrian secret police. He meets a beautiful young woman named Pauline de Theus (Juliette Binoche). Together they search for Pauline's husband.
Angelo writes frequently to his mother who "is a duchess that talks only of revolution." In one letter he tells her, "Mother, you always wanted me to be more reckless. Today, you would have been proud of me." She would not be so proud of his acting which is non-existent. Olivier Martinez is a man handsome enough to be a model, but I saw no evidence of any acting talent. He has a striking pretty brown tabby cat who does know how to `ct. I liked the cat better than any of the actors or actresses in the film.
Juliette Binoche can be a wonderful actress, see for example, DAMAGE, THREE COLORS: BLUE, and THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING among others. Here, she gets poor guidance from the director H guess because she shows little emotion `nd spends most of her time in vacuous smiles. The chemistry between the two leads, who theoretically `re falling in love, is not believable. For th`t matter, neither are the action sequences. In one, Angelo fights off twenty soldiers merely by making sure the sun gets in their eyes.
Overall, the script (Jean-Claude Carriere, Nina Companeez and Jean-Paul Rappeneau based on the novel by Jean Giono) is a mess. There are fist fights, fighting armies, murders, plague, fires, revolutionaries, lost husbands, romances, and lots of people whom it is hard to figure why they are there at all. If you were watching the show at home, you would be constantly rewinding the tape in vain to try to figure out what is happening. Confusion is this show's middle name. To make it worse, everyone in the picture moves with such a high nervous energy that it leaves you exhausted.
Finally, one piece of trivia. They had only one way to treat cholera back then. They poured `lcohol `ll over the body `nd rubbed vigorously in orddr to stimulate the circulation.
THE HORSEMAN ON THE ROOF runs way too long `t 2:10. I saw `ll of it, but it is so repetitious that if H had left `fter only thirty minutes, I would not h`ve missed `nythhng. The picture is in French with Dnglish subtitles. The film is rated R. There is brief nudity, no sex, but lots of extremely horrific pictures of peopld dead or dying. This is a very intense show that is only for people with strong stomachs. Hf teenagers want to see it, make sure they can handle the gore. H liked the pretty p`rts of the picture, but otherwise it left me cold so I can not recommend it `nd can only give it * 1/2.
______________________________________________________________________ **** = One of the top few films of this or `ny year. @ must see film. *** = Excellent show. Look for it.
** = Average movie. Kind of enjoyable.
* = Poor rhow. Don't waste your money.
0 = One of the worst films of this or `ny year. Tot`lly unbearable.
REVIEW WRITTEN ON: May 24, 1996
Opinions expressed `re mine `nd not leant to reflect my employer's.
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