Evengyny Thanks for the memories!

RipDelight This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

FilmCriticLalitRao For viewers outside of France,French film industry is identified by its 'art cinema' as well as its 'commercial cinema'.This is an important distinction to pigeonhole films as it enables viewers to choose films based on their personal tastes. Apart from the general film festival circuit, there is also a huge market for "French commercial films". This has created the perception that commercial films made in France are as entertaining, intelligent and meaningful as art films which have changed the shape of cinema. French director Jean-Paul Rappeneau is a director whose films have always oscillated between realms of art and commercial. The success of his third film "Le Sauvage" proved that even commercial films can convey a lot of useful information about human beings and the societies in which they live. For this film,fast paced action is a big virtue as leading pair of Yves Montand and Catherine Deneuve use all available emotions to entertain their audiences. One has to carefully watch the dogged determination with which Catherine Deneuve is able to get herself out of complex situations. Although Yves Montand's character prefers to lead a lonely yet simple life, it has been dubbed 'savage' due to the use of his 'savage force in rescuing Catherine Deneuve. Although the end is a trifle disappointing, Le Sauvage must be on all those viewers' wish list who would like to learn while getting entertained.

R. Ignacio Litardo Nelly (Catherine D.) is not your average good girl in this somewhat unusual movie. A former ... easy woman, had a "house" with two friends in Paris, then for some reason moved to Venezuela (!) working in a trendy night bar, but the first scene of the movie is her desperate present: she's been married, ostensibly unwillingly, to a crass rich vulgar ... Italian, extended family included. Even if her past is not exactly blameless, she looks them down haughtily, like a princess. Next thing she's doing is leaving on the middle of the wet Caracas night, which makes her come across our hero Martin, (Yves M.), and a mysterious and friendly looking American tourist. They all play an important part in this movie, of which I've only told you the first 5 minutes... :).If your view of Latin America includes corruption, urban car chases in streets without people, mafiosos, everybody shouting in Spanish *(including princess Deneuve), breaking everything at offices, brawls in bars, thefts, huge curly haired locals, burning things, greed, talks about money all the time, American companies exploiting locals, yes "Amigo", this is your film :).Ironies apart, while not exactly a very welcoming view of Venezuela, we do get to see the clearest water, a paradisiacal island, modern highways, and -for the time- those big, oil thirsty big American cars that could only be standard in an oil rich country :).Some films are able to be reasoned out, this is obviously not that kind :). If you accept the premises, I agree with other IMDb reviewers that as a "physical comedy" it fares pretty well. Who cares if the main characters (Nelly and Martin) change completely from scene to scene, from aloofness to giddy love, in turns, but asyncronously, so as to fill an hour and a half? Who want to know why is Martin so good at so many disparate and very difficult abilities, from top notch perfume making to building ships alone, drawing like an architect, or making an elaborate system for watering his ample vegetable garden, fighting and actually defeating thugs like mosquitoes, and yes, being able to resist Catherine D., probably one of the most beautiful women on the planet, on a desert island, like if there really were more important things to do :). Like raising chicken, for instance :). Why did Martin leave his important job and enigmatic rich American wife (Dana Wynter)? In short, who wants a plot when you can have Deneuve :)? I agree with IMDb reviewer "eva25at from Vienna" that the scenes where she is trying to win him over are funny, like the one with the rebellious chicken, or when she is astonished at watching real tomatoes "from the plant"... Nelly doesn't know much about farming :).We do get to see Catherine's legs and skittish movements, and for those so inclined, a decent torso (Yves'), rather well kept for his age (54 years old).Enjoy without qualms!PS: As a bonus, we get to see Deneuve's bosom, but you'll have to watch this film for more than an hour to get it. Worth the wait, if you ask me :).

MartinHafer Ugghh. I love French films but truly disliked this film. Considering it stars Catherine Deneuve and Yves Montand, you sure would expect it to be well written and engaging. Well, unfortunately, it's not. In fact, for much of the film, I truly hated Catherine Deneuve's character--so much that I was longing for Montand to kill her...slowly and very painfully! This is NOT a good thing if you are trying to make this film a romantic comedy!! The film starts with Deneuve marrying an obnoxious Italian man who behaves like a mobster with less self-control than Joe Pesci in GOODFELLAS. Through most of the film, he yells and behaves like a Moose during rutting season. It's no wonder, then, that Deneuve soon disappears--realizing she made a mistake. However, in a "kooky" move, she spends the next half of the movie using every man that comes near her. Her old boss (Tony Roberts) owes her some money, so she steals his Toulouse-Lautrec painting (worth many, many times what he owes her). When nice guy Montand hears Deneuve and her husband arguing like hyenas, he comes to help her--and she manages to nearly get him killed, uses him to get plane fare and never once says thanks.At this point, I am seriously wondering if I've ever hated any woman in a film this much in recent memory...but it gets much worse. Instead of taking the plane, she sneaks off to an island where Montand lives very happily all alone. She never asks to stay but begins acting like the island is hers. He gets angry and puts her aboard his boat to take her back to the mainland and she responds by getting an axe and tearing the hull apart--sinking his boat and stranding them on the island. After that, other "amusing" things she does is steal his food, tries to lock him in the basement and take the house for herself and pouts...a lot. I'm thinking to myself that there is nothing funny or romantic about any of this, yet oddly they then sleep together. She responds by then ignoring him for most of the rest of this film. What a wretched, demanding and self-absorbed "lady".Late in the film, Deneuve's husband finds her and takes her back. Oddly, you'd think Montand would be thrilled but since this is a romantic comedy, he then realizes how much he loves her (!?) and goes looking for her once he's able to get off the island! What a contrived and witless script!! Sadly, while Deneuve was the main focus of the film, her selfish character was pretty but 100% vacuous and unlikable. On the other hand, Montand had a wonderful backstory that was interesting...too bad there wasn't nearly enough time to delve into it and explore it completely--especially when after being taken to New York, he suddenly magically returns to Venezuela (where most of the film occurred). This is a great case of "scene missing here" logic! Overall, you've got a script so horrible that Julia Roberts would even refuse to be in such a contrived and unlikable romance. Badly written and a total waste of the stars' considerable talents. This is just brainless and hard going from start to contrived finish.

writers_reign Recipe for escapist film: Take one top writer (Jean-Loup Dabadou), add one top director (Jean-Paul Rappeneau), season with a brace of A-list vedettes (Yves Montand, Catherine Deneuve), and a dash of screwball and voila! Eat! Enjoy! A guy who has quit the perfume business and found that the Grasse is greener in the islands, a gal running away from a vitriolic Italian, a stolen Lautrec, a bearded Montand, a gorgeous Deneuve, an island idyll. What more do you want. You DO want more? Gee, some people are NEVER satisfied. How about Tony Roberts doing the Tony Randall/Gig Young stooge to Doris Day-James Garner-Rock Hudson spot and proving up to snuff. NOW will you go see it and do yourself a favor. This is a million miles away from Godard pretentiousness and all the better for it. 9/10