The Picasso Summer (1969)

[MissGoddess]

One of my favorite "off the radar" films gets an appreciative posting at Movie Morlocks:

http://moviemorlocks.com/2012/04/12/a-t ... ment-26418

And I learned it is out on Warner Archive (though it is the final cut, not the original version by director Serge Bourguignon which I would adore to see if ever it turns up). How I missed that, I don't know, with all the notifications I get about WA releases. Anyway, it admittedly is a very imperfect film, one of those quirky, 60s one-off flukes that resulted from a really strange combination of talents. Read the article to see what I mean.

If you are a fan of the south of France, of Picasso, of movies like Two for the Road, of Albert Finney or Yvette MImieux, or ever felt the tug of yearning for lost ideals, have a look or better yet, set out for your own "Picasso summer".

[JackFavell]

Oh this is great, MissG! I saw the article but hadn't read it, and I wasn't sure I was going to, though I am kind of obsessive when it comes to looking at every morlocks post.

I am beginning to really like Albert Finney, though I'll admit that he is an acquired taste for me. It was his incredible performances in a string of movies recently that made me want to see his older films. Kind of the reverse of how I usually come to like an actor.

[MissGoddess]

Hi Wendy,
Finney is still an acquired taste for me, though I appreciate his skills and agree his more recent work was just great. In fact, I loathed him the first time I watched Two for the Road, I thought he was so mean and nasty to Audrey, lol. His appearance in both films is one of their many things in common, though I admit I prefer The Picasso Summer for its charm and whimsicality.

[JackFavell]

I agree, I hated Two for the Road for that very reason. I find those 60's relationship movies so very hard to watch and wearing on my nerves. The Pumpkin eater is another. I just hated Peter Finch for years. Now I begin to see the actor, not the role with both Finney and Finch.

[MissGoddess]

I usually like those for some scary reason, but Finney was too charmless for me. I'm warming up to him, slowly.

I've yet to make it past the first few minutes of The Pumpkin Eater. TPS is much lighter in my opinion, even if the theme is serious, if that makes sense. Maybe it's the locations that lighten it up, and Mimieux' characterization has a certain innocent buoyancy.

[JackFavell]

I much prefer a light movie with deep themes to a heavy movie. I think Picasso Summer sounds like it was somewhat ahead of it's time, a trend setter that way. In the early seventies, there were a few independent films that took serious themes and treated them lightly, and a lot of plays, and I find them much more interesting than some of those dark thick dramas of the fifties and sixties.

All those movies like the Brit ones and the Inge type American films have their place, and I do watch them once in a while, but I've passed that phase of DRAMA with a capital D. I now prefer something with a lighter touch, that still examines human nature. I saw a stage version of Picnic once that did exactly that, and it was marvelous. I've never gotten that version out of my head. The characters were heartbreaking, not bombastic, and one could more easily sympathize with them because they were not thrust in your face. The problems were dealt with delicately, making Marjorie's decision to leave more excruciating, because each of them had a stake in her staying. The director left it up to the audience to decide that her decision was the right one. There was a lot of humor, and it worked beautifully.

I think that almost anything can be made better by setting it in France or Spain, anyway!

I am hoping that they show Picasso Summer on TCM sometime, now that it's out on dvd. They are pretty good at discovering these films and fitting them into the schedule.

[MissGoddess]

Those are all great points, Wendy, that I completely understand. My mood often dictates on that score. I find myself wildly intolerant of some things if i try to watch them at the wrong time. These movies in particular, the 60s dramas anyway, are particularly subject to my whims.

Though I will say for some bizarre reason, U have found myself less drawn to comedies and musicals than when i was younger. I may swing back, I'm certainly schizophrenic enough to!

That adaptation of Picnic sounds like one I would actually enjoy.

I wish TCM still had its "Suggest a Movie" feature functioning, I have requested TPS in the past and will again. Maybe I'll search for FredCDobb's thread and post there.

[JackFavell]

I didn't know they dismantled the suggest a movie section.

I too am wildly unpredictable about what I want to watch when, and I also seem to be watching comedies and musicals less and less. I think maybe because the musicals were such a big part of my upbringing that I just finally got tired of them. I watched them over and over, till I just wore out my welcome.

[MissGoddess]

Me, too. When I was dancing, of course I just loved the musicals and I loved "silly" any time, anywhere (in movies). I think I'm just getting cranky and need to snap out of it!

By the way I love your avatar...Rebecca's bedroom has always been my "dream bedroom". With unlimited funds I'd just tell a decorator to watch the movie and make that set.

[JackFavell]

Can I have the rest of the house, if you take the bedroom? I love the library and the morning room and the entry hall. The dining room I only just put up with.

The beautifully detailed miniature:


A drawing of Manderley:



The Entry:


The Dining Room:


A hallway upstairs leading to the east (or is it west?) wing:


The Boathouse:



The Library (I love this room):


The Morning Room (My favorite):


A drawing of Rebecca's Bedroom:


Rebecca's Bedroom (I think it was much bigger, with an L shape - a sitting room in front, the bed in the second section of the room, but this is the only photo I can find):

[JackFavell]

Oh yeah, my avatar is the other half. Sheesh.