Simply A Masterpiece

One of the best films i have seen

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Zazie, a young girl from the provinces, is brought to Paris by her mother, who wants to spend some time with her lover. When asked by her uncle what part of Paris she wants to see, she answers: the metro! Zazie's wish was not to come true because of a transit strike in the city that has closed the underground system. The result is chaos in the streets where thousand vehicles try to go nowhere.The young girl surprises because of her dirty mouth. She can out curse even the most experts in the subject. A trip to see the Eiffel Tower with her uncle Gabriel, brings the young girl face to face with tourists and an assortment of people she has never seen in her life. Deciding to take off to explore on her own, puts Zazie in touch with a series of Parisian characters that she would not see otherwise in her more provincial setting.Louis Malle's "Zazie dans le Metro" was his third film. He was clearly paying homage to the silent films of the beginning of the century. The flavor of the picture reminded us of the Keystone Kops with its frantic pacing and running gags. The style of the film is quite in contrast with the previous movies of Mr. Malle. Perhaps the chaos in the film stands as a metaphor for the way he perceived things in a metropolis like Paris.A young Philippe Noiret, who up to then had been seen a lot of television, makes a wonderful Gabriel, the entertainer at a small cabaret. Young Catherine Demongeot plays Zazie with an intensity that her nine years made possible. Vittorio Caprioli shows up in several disguises. Carla Marlier makes a wonderful Albertine, the almost silent wife of Gabriel. Yvonne Clech, Hubert Deschamps and the rest of the crew contribute to the zaniness of the atmosphere created by Mr. Malle.

Apparently, Malle had little time for the French Nouveaux Vague, and we get a passing barbed aside early on in the film. Although not up there with his best, Malle manages some ground breaking film making here. Hints at Richard Lester's work (Hard Days Night, The Knack), early Gilliam (particularly Python), and Jean-Pierre Jeunet, mixed in with Tex Avery and the musicals of Vincente Minnelli. Malle apparently attempted to get as many styles of film making as possible into the piece and he and Rappeneau attempted to style the film so as to reflect Queneau's style of prose. The film sags a bit in the middle but finishes with a flourish. This is worth a watch just to see how ahead of the game Malle was, and could turn his hand to just about any style. From watching this and many other early Malle films he comes across as a cinematic classicist, as opposed to the more radical JLG, and the decidedly average talents of Monsieur Truffaut.

When the mother of Zazie (Catherine Demongeot) comes to Paris to meet her lover, she leaves her daughter with her uncle Gabriel (Philippe Noiret). However the reckless and uncontrollable nephew leaves Gabriel's apartment and decides to visit Paris by subway. However the employees are on strike and the runaway girl gets Gabriel into trouble in a chaotic Paris."Zazie Dans le Metro" is a surrealistic, bizarre and annoying comedy "à la Mel Brooks". This type of humor might works for Parisians or even Europeans, but I really did not like it. The lead character is irritating and Catherine Demongeot is not funny. My vote is four.Title (Brazil): Not Available

This is a screen adaptation of one of those novels they said couldn't be filmed. Raymonde Queneau is a sort of James Joyce-lite whose work is studded with word-play but Jean-Paul Rappeneau and director Louis Malle make it work. A simple premise - Zazie, played by 12 year old Catherine Demongeot, is brought to Paris by her mother and dumped on uncle (Philippe Noiret) so mom can enjoy some R and R with her latest boyfriend. Zazie has only one desire, to see and ride on the Metro but the Metro is on strike - spins out of control as foul-mouthed Zazie takes off on her own and encounters a succession of pre-Monty Python/Basil Fawlty types in nothing flat. As if this bouillabaisse needed seasoning Uncle is a drag artist though straight with it. If you don't respond to zany humour you'll find it infantile - as at least one commenter did - if not chances are you'll rejoice.