Although neo-realism was an Italian genre that flowered in the mid-1940s under such directors as Luchino Visconti and Roberto Rossellini, the first neo-realist pictures were actually made in France and Japan as early as 1935. Jean Renoir’s Toni and Yasujiro Ozu’s An Inn in Tokyo were the first true neo-realist films. Toni is a simple story of migrant workers—Italian, Spanish, and North African—who arrive by train to toil in a quarry in the south of France. Brimming with everyday life, passion, and jealousy, it tells of a loveless, doomed marriage. Shot almost entirely outdoors on location, and using local villagers as extras, its rural landscapes provide settings of great beauty, marred only by the poverty-stricken dwellings in which the workers live. The drama of life unfolds, as it always has and always will. The picture ends as it begins, on the railroad tracks where migrant workers arrive each season to fulfill their destinies. his time their names have been Toni, Marie, Josefa, Albert, and Gabi. While Toni isn’t one of Renoir’s masterpieces (Boudu Saved from Drowning, Grand Illusion, La bête humaine, and The Rules of the Game), it is a charming forerunner of Italian neo-realism. The location shooting reveals its director’s easy, assured sense of composition, as well as an almost documentary-like sense of verisimilitude that also can be seen in Georges Rouquier’s poetic, rural documentary, Farrebique (1946). Toni was greatly admired by Luchino Visconti, who in fact worked on the picture as one of Renoir’s assistants, and its influence can be seen in Visconti’s Ossessione (1943). Although neo-realism became a major cinematic genre in Italy during the 1940s, with the early films of Visconti and Rossellini, it began with Renoir’s Toni.
Financed by Marcel Pagnol's production company, Toni is a landmark in French filmmaking. Based on a police dossier concerning a provincial crime of passion, it was lensed by Claude Renoir on location in the small town of Les Martigues where the actual events occurred. The use of directly-recorded sound, authentic patois, lack of make-up, a large ensemble cast of local citizens in supporting roles, and Renoir's steadfast desire to avoid melodrama lead to Toni often being labeled the first 'neorealist' film, though Renoir himself disagreed.
A very welcome first DVD release for this landmark in French cinema. Based on a police dossier about a provincial crime of passion, it was shot by Claude Renoir on loc... more >
A very welcome first DVD release for this landmark in French cinema. Based on a police dossier about a provincial crime of passion, it was shot by Claude Renoir on location (highly unusual for the time) in the small French town of Les Martigues where the actual events happened. The director’s use of recorded sound, authentic patois, lack of makeup and a large ensemble cast of local citizens in supporting roles have given the film the reputation of the first neo- realist movie (in fact, Visconti worked on the film). Its power may have diminished over the years, but it remains essential viewing. < less
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Toni (Masters Of Cinema)
