Name: Forces occultes
Genre: Drama
Released: 1943-03-10
Duration: 53 min
Rating: 6
Cast: Maurice Rémy, Gisèle Parry, Marcel Vibert

If "Forces occultes" really "represents Vichy France's most determined effort at nazi propaganda" as one reviewer claimed, then one cannot really say they put much effort into their propaganda. A mere 45 minutes short, the film is very heavy-handed and all-too-obvious in making its point. Today the movie's in-your-face symbolism (a huge hairy spider with the masonic symbol on its back) comes off as rather campy or silly. How anyone can still regard this as "dangerous" is beyond me.It is simply too dated and too badly done to still be effective.

The hero Pierre Avenel is too clear-cut and cardboard-straight to be a real character, and that also makes it hardly believable why he is joining the Free Masons in the first place or staying with them for so long (at least five years, the movie tells us) if they are not doing any good and being just slimy, pushy characters from the beginning on. How these people could possibly rule the world is explained later, when it is revealed that these are merely the peasants in a far bigger game.

However the film is interesting for historical reasons. Avenel can be seen as a fascist idealist in the vein of Jacques Doriot. In the beginning he fiercely attacks the corruption in the parliament of both the Left and the Right. The parliamentary system is shown as ineffective and old-fashioned - at one satirically exaggerated point the parliamentarians merely utter a "cock-a-doodle-doo" or the mowing of sheep. While parliamentarians debate all day the real powers that be act behind the facade. Left or Right are merely pawns in a game for power, which reflects the fascist claim for being beyond both Left and Right and for overcoming the crisis of parliamentarianism (see Zeev Sternhell's books for that). And there is lot of cleaning up to do: FORCES OCCULTES paints the picture of a vast global conspiracy. A map in the beginning shows that only three fascist countries in the world are liberated from "Jewish-Masonic influence": Germany, Italy, and Spain.

Another crucial ideological point is the claim that the Free Masons (among them many Jews) dragged France into the war against Germany while at the same time undermining the state. This was a way to blame the pre-war elites for the disaster of 1940 and to show the necessity to replace them with fascism (which was not identical with the actual Vichy government).

The most convincing scene is the detailed depiction of a scurrilous Masonic initiation ritual. Director Jean Mamy, executed in 1949 for collaboration himself was a member of the Grand Orient de France from 1931-39, so this may be quite authentic.

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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Forces occultes

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