Name: La goualeuse
Genre: Drama
Released: 1938-10-28
Duration: 1 h 30 min
Rating: 6.2
Cast: Lys Gauty, Constant Rémy, Jean Martinelli

"La goualeuse " bears more than a distant resemblance to Raymond Bernard's "le coupable"(1936);both were remakes of silent movies ;both are ,of course,melodrama, nothing but melodrama.

A "goualeuse" (an obsolete word) is a female street singer , who sings to earn her daily bread : Edith Piaf began her career as a goualeuse ,but many of those gals were in dire straits ,often starving.

Lys Gauty only appeared twice on the silver screen and was essentially a successful singer: cine buffs will remember she sang "le chaland qui passe" ,the song featured in Jean Vigo's classic "l'Atalante "(1933-34),included against the director's will.

As she was not really a professional actress,Lys Gauty copes well with this part of a doomed gal , living on a barge -another similarity with Vigo's masterpiece .

For people who love melodramas,it's a real guilty pleasure ,and in spite of Fernand Rivers' flat direction ,it grabs the viewer from start to finish.

There's a fine colorful depiction of the banks of the river Marne where a wedding is to take place ,but the less-than-attractive fiancés stays aside , the main characters are Pierre Duchemin, a young man with a chip on his shoulder and his lover,la goualeuse.Whereas she's resigned to her fate ,he rebels against a society who left him by the wayside .His resentment is intense.

In spite of the melodramatic effects ,there's an anarchist side to "la goualeuse"; In the laws court where they are summoned , the humble people who often live on a barge feel the gap between them, humble uneducated people ,and the magistrates ,the wealthy man's lawyer .They are worlds apart .During the trial ,they often involuntary turn the questionings into a farce .

For the wealthy man,there's always a providential world; for the illegitimate son and for the girl born in the gutter , the ending leaves no hope; whereas "le coupable" featured a (not very plausible) happy end , "la goualeuse " denouement is close to film noir at its darkest.

French-language cinema, whether in France, Québec, or other Francophone regions, explores cultural identity, social change, and the tension between the individual and society. French cinema is not only celebrated for its intellectual experimentation and auteur traditions, but also its success in mainstream comedy, romance, and commercial entertainment. In Québec, films often focus on questions of language, belonging, and community within a distinct cultural landscape.

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The drama genre is a broad category that features stories portraying human experiences, emotions, conflicts, and relationships in a realistic and emotionally impactful way. Dramas delve into the complexities of human life, often exploring themes of love, loss, morality, societal issues, personal growth, with the aim to evoke an emotional response from the audience by presenting relatable and thought-provoking stories.

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La goualeuse

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