Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageLa Kermesse Héroique (1935)
Director: Jacques Feyder
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
A minor gem of pre-war French cinema, about a small bourgeois town invaded by Spanish soldiers in early 17th-century Flanders. Feyder declared his intention of bringing to life Flemish painting, an end he achieves nearly perfectly through a combination of masterly use of studio sets and costumes and Harry Stradling's gorgeous photography. Faced by the cowardly reaction of their burgher husbands, the women of the town decide to save themselves by preparing a lavish welcoming feast for the bloodthirsty Spaniards. The film is distinctly ambiguous about which appetites are being satisfied and how, and about the politics of occupation - is it advocating collaboration or subversion? For this reason, Feyder found it wise to exile himself from Nazi-occupied France a few years later. Either way, though, it remains a distinctly amiable sex comedy.Author: RM
Cast & crew
Director: Jacques Feyder
Cast: Françoise Rosay, Louis Jouvet, Jean Murat, Alerme, Micheline Cheirel, Lyne Clévers, Alfred Adam full cast
Genre(s): Comedy
Duration: 115 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Time Out's 101 Films of the Decade
Ten years, thousands of movies and millions of dollars in international box office, and it all boils down to this
Martin Provost discusses 'Séraphine'
Trevor Johnston talks to the director of 'Séraphine' about bringing a little known French painter back to life
Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson ends a triumphant decade with a sentimental misfire with this lush Alice Sebold adaptation
On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'
Dave Calhoun meets Ken Loach on the set of his forthcoming Iraq war movie
Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'
Stephen Poliakoff’s ‘Glorious 39’ is his first film for cinema since ‘Food of Love’ in 1997. Dave Calhoun met him
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'
We talk to Steven Soderbergh about his two forthcoming films: one featuring a porn star, the other a chubby Matt Damon
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations
What do you think?
Post your review now