Nov 3, 7pm, Surreal 1932 Romantic Tragedy: Daïnah la métisse
by
Nov 3, 7pm, Admission $6.00
Daïnah la métisse, 1932, France, 60 min (B&W)
Director: Jean Grémillon
Cast: Laurence Clavius, Charles Vanel, Gabrielle Fontan, Habib Benglia, Gaston Dubosc, Maryanne, Lucien Guérard
“With Daïnah la métisse, we have potentially explosive social tensions that melodrama can exploit more explicitly than many other forms. Daïnah (Laurence Clavius) is the mixed-race wife of a black man (“Le mari” in the credits, Habib Benglia) who has been hired to perform magic on a cruise ship bound for New Caledonia. Daïnah has a large degree of freedom for a married woman for reasons never clearly explained, and she openly flirts with all the male passengers and crew. Things get complicated when she turns down the advances of an engine mechanic (Charles Vanel) and bites him to escape. Grémillon and Spaak explore race and class issues that are in some ways ahead of their time, and in some ways very much of their time.”