''Toni'' is a 1935 French

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by Jean Renoir and starring Charles Blavette, Celia Montalván and Édouard Delmont. The credits mention no writers other than the story writer Jacques Levert, but the script was later confirmed to be authored by Renoir and Carl Einstein. It is an early example of the casting of non-professional actors and on-location shooting - both of which would influence the Left Bank of the French New Wave movement. Examining the romantic interactions between a group of immigrants (both from abroad and other parts of France) working around a

quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their envir ...

and a

farm A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used ...

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...

, it is also generally considered a major precursor to the

Italian neorealist Italian neorealism ( it, Neorealismo), also known as the Golden Age, is a national film movement characterized by stories set amongst the poor and the working class. They are filmed on location, frequently with non-professional actors. They pri ...

movement, for its concerns on the working class , use of non-professional actors and on-location shooting. Although ''Toni'' is not among Renoir's most famous works, it continues to receive positive reviews from critics.

Plot

Looking for a job Toni goes from Italy to Southern France. A local woman named Marie takes him in as her tenant and becomes his lover. But when the Spanish guestworker Josepha comes to town, Toni falls for her. To his disappointment Josepha falls for Albert, an educated and wealthier man from the northern France. Albert/Josepha and Toni/Marie have a double wedding, but Toni cannot hide that Josepha is still his great love. After Marie has thrown him out of her house his obsession with Josepha grows even more pronounced. Toni spends his time observing Josepha's house from a hut in the mountain. Albert becomes increasingly more abusive, so Josepha and her paramour Gabi decide to steal some money and run away. Albert catches her in the act and cruelly beats her, and she in revenge kills him with his gun. Meanwhile Toni finds out the plan from Gabi and forces Gabi to go with him to check on Josepha. Seeing Josepha in trouble, Gabi takes the money and runs away, leaving Toni with Josepha. Toni sacrifices himself in order to cover up for her. He runs to meet with Josepha in an agreed location, but is shot dead before he can reach there.

Cast

* Charles Blavette as Antonio 'Toni' Canova * Celia Montalván as Josefa * Édouard Delmont as Fernand * Max Dalban as Albert * Jenny Hélia as Marie *

Michel Kovachevitch Michel may refer to: * Michel (name), a given name or surname of French origin (and list of people with the name) * Míchel (nickname), a nickname (a list of people with the nickname, mainly Spanish footballers) * Míchel (footballer, born 1963), ...

as Sebastian *

Andrex Andrex is a British brand of toilet roll. It is owned by the American company Kimberly-Clark. The "Andrex Puppy", a Labrador Retriever puppy that appears on the company's television advertisements, is synonymous with the brand. The brand Andre ...

as Gabi * Paul Bozzi as the guitar player

Production

Filming was based out of

Marcel Pagnol Marcel Paul Pagnol (; 28 February 1895 – 18 April 1974) was a French novelist, playwright, and filmmaker. Regarded as an auteur, in 1946, he became the first filmmaker elected to the Académie française. Although his work is less fashionabl ...

's studios in

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...

and shot entirely on location in the South of France. Some literature indicates that

Luchino Visconti Luchino Visconti di Modrone, Count of Lonate Pozzolo (; 2 November 1906 – 17 March 1976) was an Italian filmmaker, stage director, and screenwriter. A major figure of Italian art and culture in the mid-20th century, Visconti was one of the ...

, one of the founding members of the neo-realist film movement, has worked as assistant director on the film, although this is disputed. Most recent scholarship seems to agree that Visconti first worked with Renoir in 1936 on '' A Day in the Country.''

Reception

''Toni'' has received positive reviews from critics since its release; review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

reports 100% approval among six critics. The acclaimed filmmaker

Wes Anderson Wesley Wales Anderson (born May 1, 1969) is an American filmmaker. His films are known for their eccentricity and unique visual and narrative styles. They often contain themes of grief, loss of innocence, and dysfunctional families. Cited by ...

has named ''Toni'' as a favorite film of his. In April 2019, a restored version of the film was selected to be shown in the Cannes Classics section at the

2019 Cannes Film Festival The 72nd annual Cannes Film Festival took place from 14 to 25 May 2019. Mexican filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu served as jury president. The Palme d'Or went to the South Korean film ''Parasite'', directed by Bong Joon-ho; Bong became t ...

References

Bibliography

* O'Shaughnessy, Martin. ''Jean Renoir''. Manchester University Press, 20 Oct 2000.

External links

*
An essay
by

Tom Milne Tom Milne (2 April 1926 – 14 December 2005) was a British film critic. See also After war service, he studied English and French at Aberdeen University and later at the Sorbonne. Interested in the theatre too, he wrote for the magazine ' ...

on ''Toni''
''Toni: A True Story Told by Jean Renoir''
an essay by Ginette Vincendeau at the Criterion Collection {{Jean Renoir 1935 films 1935 crime drama films French black-and-white films Films directed by Jean Renoir French crime drama films 1930s French-language films Films set in France Films about immigration 1930s French films it:Toni (film)