Toni (1935)
Directed by Jean Renoir
In the 1920s, the Provence is a magnet for immigrants seeking work in the quarries or in the agriculture. Many mingle with locals and settle down for good — like Toni, an Italian who has moved in with Marie, a Frenchwoman. Even a well-ordered existence is not immune from boredom, friendship, romance, or enmity, and Toni becomes entangled in a web of increasingly passionate relationships. For there is his best pal Fernand, but also Albert, his overbearing foreman; there is Sebastian, a steady Spanish peasant, but also Gabi, his young rogue relative; there is Marie, but there is also Josefa.
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What critics compared Toni to
Renoir's early experiment with direct film sound recording using non-professionals, outside locales, local dialect, music and customs, etc ., as in Toni (1934) - that is often regarded as a vital precursive link to Italian Neo-Realism which influenced the Cahiers French New Wave group - is also uncanningly reminiscent of Astruc's definition of a "camero stylo " cinema (and not overlooking today's digital video developments) as Renoir's following words attest: "My aim was to give the impression that I was carrying a camera and microphone in my pocket and recording whatever came my way, regardless of its comparative importance.