esrosedotblog

When I was in the third grade, I was given a bunch of books to read on my own.

I guess I was precocious.

Well, no vanity about it, I was very smart for my age.

Among these books was one that caught my interest like no other. And now I have seen it in a filmed story, not for the first time, but in a three plus hour version with Nicolas Cazalé which doubles the pleasure as he plays Friday, the native "son" of Robinson.

The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe

In which Cazale plays Friday, the native who Robinson befriends. I am watching all of Cazale's films. Well the ones that I can in Netflix.

In this one he plays it all in a breechclout but also with an improbably well cut page boy hairdo.

Once we are by that one though, it is not a bad movie although overly long. It was a television mini-series. Or special.

I do not remember the story. Someone complains that it has been changed. I don't know.

I wish I could give this a higher rating but I had to FF toward the end. They just took too long getting there even with the mostly naked Casale.

This was the third year of his professional career in French cinema and most handsome young male stars have to do a film like this to get ahead. It is how the game is played.

He is very good as he evolves from a "native" into a fairly articulate partner of Crusoe.

In a more modernized version of this story with these actors Friday and Robinson would have become lovers. It is nearly that although a young woman shows up just at the end, in the nick of time. Robinson's grown up daughter. I hope Friday is getting a little. But you can't tell.

So the FF button near the end takes a point off and makes this a 2 out of Netflix5. Not high art, just teevee but in this case it is OK. When the going got tough I watched Casale who's little modesty covering blew around enough to fill in the interest lost in the dialog.

Labels: books, films