Toni Film Critique

Film Critique/ Analysis #12

Michael Atkinson

Cinema 28

Toni’s Trials

Jean Renoir directs an exotic film entitled Toni (1935) about an Italian immigrant moving to France. In this French film, Toni’s life seems to be moving along just find as he finds a stable place to live with landlady, Marie, and gets a stable job at the quarry. His relationship with Marie is going strong and life seems to be perfectly in balance. However, nothing can always be perfect and thus, Toni meets and falls in love with another woman, Josefa. But as the story would go, their love cannot be for they each are already with someone else. Josefa marries her brusque man, Albert, even after he rapes her. Toni knows he must save Josefa from her abusive husband and eventually helps her escape, but at the cost of his relationship and the cost of his life. 

It is clear that Renoir truly knew how to use the camera. There were some scenes in particular that were just awe-inspiring. At one point, Marie and Toni get in a fight and Marie threatens that she will kill herself. She gets in a row boat and paddles away from the shore. In this one take, we see her leave the shore in a wide shot, traveling farther into the white water and white sky. When the land disappears from the frame completely, we are left to only see her black silhouette in the black rowboat against the white backdrop. It was a shot masterfully done, leaving one holding their breath as she slowly stands up in the boat. However, even though his camerawork is up to par, some of his scenes seem to cut too quickly, leaving me feeling as if the conversation is not complete. Constantly, I wanted to know what was going to happen, but as the scene was getting good and getting somewhere in depth, he would cut away to something else, almost as if Renoir was too scared of a sentimental conversation. 

The character’s Renoir creates here weren’t as compelling as they could have been. None were too likable and much of the story felt contrived and predictable. Every conversation told exactly what was about to happen, with no subtle foreshadowing. After a while, the characters just seemed to become annoying as none changed their ideals from beginning to end.

Again, it seems that this is another film with the mentions of domestic violence. But at least in this film, Toni was able to help poor Josefa and she found the strength to kill her husband after he brutally whipped her. But Renoir did not focus much on this aspect of this story - since it was Toni’s story - but even still, Toni takes responsibility for Josefa’s actions and he becomes the one to blame. The ending does wrap together beautifully, pulling the whole story together as the film ends just as it began, with the train of new Italian immigrants entering France, none realizing what is truly in store for them in this new place.