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Review: ‘Toni’ – Jean Renoir’s Influential Tragedy
Considered by many to be the beginning of neorealist cinema, ‘Toni’ is required viewing
Little can be said about the greatness of Jean Renoir as a director that has not been said before, but the director is almost always recognised for Grand Illusion or The Rules of the Game in a way that often leaves a lot of major, influential films left out of the conversation. Renoir made numerous films just as brilliant as his two most famous and most canonised works — I’d argue that a handful of them are even better than the two films mentioned by name above — but they are much more rarely discussed or celebrated. Chief among Renoir’s overlooked works is Picnic on the Grass, a wonderful comedy full of unpredictable and innovative gags. The River, while having aged somewhat poorly in terms of politics and representation, was one of the early English language films shot fully in India, bursting with gorgeous Technicolor and crafted in a way that it serves as both a sort of travel documentary and a coming of age romance story. Boudu Saved From Drowning — my favourite Renoir, today at least — is one of the greatest comedies ever made, a wonderfully fun and still relevant satire about a homeless Parisian who attempts suicide but is saved a rich book-keeper.
