A brash and precocious ten-year-old comes to Paris for a whirlwind weekend with her rakish uncle. He and the viewer get more than they bargained for, however, in this anarchic comedy that rides roughshod over the City of Light. Based on a popular novel by Raymond Queneau that had been considered unadaptable, the audacious Zazie dans le Métro, made with flair on the cusp of the French New Wave, is a bit of stream-of-consciousness slapstick, wall-to-wall with visual gags, editing tricks, and effects.
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When the mother of Zazie comes to Paris to meet her lover, she leaves her daughter with her uncle Gabriel. However the reckless and uncontrollable niece leaves Gabriel's apartment and decides to visit Paris by subway.Some reviewers see in this film the roots of "Amelie". Others may see a very French version of "Catcher in the Rye", albeit nowhere near as dark. What we certainly have is a fast-paced slapstick screwball film of a little girl in a big city where nothing goes right. And also a sheep or a dog or something.While the film is not heavily structured in any narrative sense, it is quite fun in how it uses stream of consciousness to tell its tale. In a way, the sum is greater than its parts because the story is the experience itself.
When the mother of Zazie (Catherine Demongeot) comes to Paris to meet her lover, she leaves her daughter with her uncle Gabriel (Philippe Noiret). However the reckless and uncontrollable nephew leaves Gabriel's apartment and decides to visit Paris by subway. However the employees are on strike and the runaway girl gets Gabriel into trouble in a chaotic Paris."Zazie Dans le Metro" is a surrealistic, bizarre and annoying comedy "à la Mel Brooks". This type of humor might works for Parisians or even Europeans, but I really did not like it. The lead character is irritating and Catherine Demongeot is not funny. My vote is four.Title (Brazil): Not Available
Films featuring metro are a sub genre in itself.In French cinema,2 of the most eccentric metro films are :subway and Zazie dans le métro.On the one hand "Subway" is more of an "in the metro" film,on the other hand "Zazie dans le métro" can be defined as something of "outside the metro" film.Nothing much happens in the metro itself.This is because in the film Parisian metro is just a metaphor in order to allow a young girl to explore the intricacies of the adults' behavior.The young girl whose role is nicely played by Catherine Demongeot is a veritable trouble maker.Although she is in Paris to enjoy her stay, she is more interested in pestering her uncle.Great French actor (now dead),Philippe Noiret plays the role of the hapless uncle who is absolutely at a loss as to how to reply to his niece's absurd questions.This film by Louis Malle is quite unusual as there is no other film which can match its spirit of freewheeling fun.For fact finders, the film is based on a novel by Raymond Queneau who was close to surrealist writers of his times.
I saw "Zazie" in Paris in 1962, and my French at that time was rudimentary. Nevertheless, for sheer manic energy, wonderful visual comedy, and performances that transcended the language barrier, I loved it. I've seen it since and still love it. Among its other virtues for me, this film introduced me to the marvelous actor Philippe Noiret. Malle proved to be a director with virtually unlimited range with respect to style and mood. Consider some of his other fine films: "Lacombe, Lucien," "Atlantic City," "Murmur of the Heart," and "My Dinner with Andre," to name only a few. I guess what Richard Lester did with the Beatles might be close to this when it comes to sheer antic charm, but I think "Zazie"still stands alone. Unless you have zero tolerance for whimsy and insist on Deep Meaning in your movies, I think that you're likely to enjoy this one...if you can find it.