Das Schweigen des Meeres (1949)

Das Schweigen des Meeres: Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville. With Howard Vernon, Nicole Stéphane, Jean-Marie Robain, Ami Aaröe. 1941 in a small town in Nazi occupied France. Against the will of its elderly male and his adult niece residents, the Nazis commandeer a house for one of their officers, Lt. Werner von Ebrennac, to live in for as long as he is in the area on Nazi business. As a figurative and literal silent protest against the Nazis and the officer, the uncle and niece do whatever is required of them while the officer is in their house, however they do not acknowledge his presence, living largely in silence whenever he is around. The officer treats the housing situation with care, like he is a guest. Although not a nightly occurrence, the officer begins an evening routine with his reluctant hosts: in his civilian clothes, he knocks on the door of the room in which they have convened for the evening, walking in shortly thereafter knowing that no acknowledgment will be made for him to enter, he visits with them for no more than five minutes before he bids them a good evening as he exits. During these visits, he speaks reverently about, among other things, culture – music and literature in particular as he is a composer and musician – his national pride, his love of France, and what he hopes will emerge from the war, namely a strong and free France, stronger than it was before the war, and the marriage between the French and German cultures which will enrich the lives of all Europeans. All the while, he makes no expectations from them, either to listen, or to answer if they are indeed listening. At the end of what ends up being his six month stay at the house, he does end up having a profound effect on the uncle and niece, despite that effect being largely unacknowledged, as his stay in France has a profound effect on him, opening up his eyes to the reality of the war based largely on his first ever visit into Paris.

“And so Jean-Pierre Melvilleu0026#39;s career began with this very impressive feature debut. While not quite the same kind of film from him as Iu0026#39;m used to (keep in mind the only other Melville films Iu0026#39;ve seen are Le Deuxième Soufflé and Le Samouraï), it delivers every bit of quiet tension and restrained filmmaking Iu0026#39;ve come to love from this director. The vast majority of the film is either narration directly out of the book on which the film was adapted, or Howard Vernon delivering hauntingly beautiful monologues. Vernonu0026#39;s performance is flawless and never fails to draw you in. All of this great stuff aside,Le Silence de la Mer has some room to grow. Biggest issue being that itu0026#39;s basically a stage play. The medium is hardly utilized and it makes for a semi- dull viewing. This isnu0026#39;t the fault of Melville or anybody else, thatu0026#39;s just what the source material calls for. As perfectly executed as Vernonu0026#39;s monologues were, I just canu0026#39;t help but feel that the story could have had so much more to offer. But this, again, is the fault of the author of the book, not Melville. All in all, Le Silence de la Mer is a very good start to Melvilleu0026#39;s career and definitely one not to let pass you by.”