jotix100 Jean and Ferdinand Rezeau lived an idyllic life in her grandmother's large estate in Brittany. The children's parents, Paule and Jacques, had gone to Indochine. Jacques, a fly collector, was easily manipulated by the domineering Paule. The children spent years without physical contact with their parents. After the death of the matriarch, the Rezeaus must return to France to assume their parental duties.A big change is in store for everyone in the estate. When the parents arrive, Jean and Ferdinand get a big surprise as the parents introduce their brother, Marcel, someone the siblings knew nothing about. Paule, ridiculous stingy woman begins making changes in the household. She even confiscate Jean and Ferdinad's personal possessions. Jean, who is a rebel, clashes with his mother. Paule, in turn, focuses all her energies into making Jean's life impossible. Jean made a discovery about his new brother which was to be a dark secret of her mother's life in Saigon.Philippe De Broca, the director of this film, based on a novel by Herve Bazin, also adapted it for the screen with Olga Vincent. It was supposed to have been the first part of a trilogy, which alas, never took place as the director died without getting his wish. The book was adapted for French television in what was supposed to be a much better adaptation. One has seen terrible mothers on the screen before, but Paule Rezeau is one of the meanest woman ever shown in films.Catherine Frot, a wonderful actress played her to the point that runs into almost a caricature of the horrible character she was asked to play. Perhaps M. De Broca wanted to go for that larger than life rendition for Paule. Jacques Villaret, who is seen as Jacques, on the other hand, has a much better time playing second fiddle to his domineering wife. Child actor Jules Sitruk does a marvelous job as Jean.

JohnHowardReid I went to a great deal of trouble to purchase "Viper in the Fist" for one reason only. I'm a great fan of Philippe de Broca. To my astonishment, this wonderful movie far surpassed my expectations. I was aware, of course, from the credits that the screenplay was based on an autobiographical novel concerning three young boys who had a particularly cruel mother. This viper-in-the-midst made Cinderella's stepmother seem like a fairy princess. I have never in all my life seen such a cruel woman. She was really vicious. Not only did she assault her children physically, but she hired other people (particularly a vicious priest) to assault them as well. She would even injure herself and then falsely claim she was actually injured by one of the boys. In a really terrifying scene, she took the boys to a hideous prison and threatened to have them incarcerated. But that was the least of her cruel measures. The ways and means by which she would undermine the young boys psychologically and belittle them were absolutely hair-raising.Anyway, here is the really incredible thing. Gradually, very gradually, due entirely to the magnificent performance of Catherine Frot who plays the chillingly vicious, cold-hearted woman, we begin to feel an empathy for her. Everyone hates her, naturally (except for her somewhat feeble-hearted husband, plus a succession of stupid, worldly-minded priests drawn from a book in which the original author's anti-Catholic bias is all too apparent). As I say, due entirely to Frot's performance, although she doesn't relax in her viciousness one iota – in fact she gets worse as the film progresses – I began to feel sorry for her. I cried when she died. Frot's characterization is certainly the greatest piece of acting I've ever seen on the screen – or stage either.Perhaps I should not have been surprised that this magnificent movie copped so many unfavorable reviews. Just about all the angry comments stemmed from either the changes that director Philippe de Broca and producer Olga Vincent made in their screenplay or the more charitable or less scathing interpretation of Madame Hervé-Bazin by the remarkably skillful Catherine Frot. Most of these critics compared this film unfavorably with the 1970 TV version, made with Bazin's approval. But these critics all seem to miss the point. De Brocca is not seeking comparisons. He is simply using the novel as a point of departure for an engrossing movie, pervaded with the fascinating (if terrifying) atmosphere, the viewpoints and long-extinct class distinctions, which were all bound up in the sights and sounds of the 1920s. An auteur should be judged by what he puts on the screen, not for his fidelity (or otherwise) to his source material.

Nicholas Rhodes Although not generally a fan of turn-of-the-century reconstitutions, I admit to rather enjoying this film because of its plastic beauty, sets, dialogues and choice of actors. I am a great fan of both Jacques Villeret and Cathérine Frot, because they both have curious and instantly recognizeable faces as well as orally attractive accents when they speak. The film, a childhood biography illustrating the incomprehension between a mother and her children, comprises a fair number of scrumptious dialogues, comic situations, and well filmed sets. The theme music too is not unpleasant and blends in well with the events. The "voice-off" technique is used - for me this is very reassuring and puts me straight into the story - in cases where this technique is NOT used, I sometimes waste a certain amount of time around the beginning wondering exactly what is going on and asking questions about the identity of each character. Of course Cathérine Frot, such a nice lady in real life, gives a remarkable performance as a domineering, heartless and vicious mother, especially with her two older children. Jacques Villeret, softer and more gentler does provide her with some support but is not as radical as his ideas. There are comic situations in the film, especially where Jules Sitruk is telling off God for having let his grandma die and asking him not to make the same mistake again and let his mother die asap because he hates her. He also has a thing going about the quantity of chocolate he is nibbling while praying and how much God should be letting him eat. Technical details of the film show that it was in part filmed in the UK, purportedly in the Dorset area, although the novel is set in the Nantes area close to Brittany. Certainly worth a watch, available on DVD in France with French only subtitles, the film will appeal to those who like filmed Novels and period pieces from the beginning of the 20th century onwards.

bruno-m-lagrange Vipère au poing is a french novel telling the childhood of the author Hervé Bazin. As a young boy, Bazin was confronted with his mother who was a tyrant. She had imposed a very tough way of life in the family manor. For instance, during the winter, she had forbidden any heater in the bedrooms of her children. She was finally nicknamed by them "Follcoche" for Folle (mad) and Cochonne (pig). In 1971, a first film from the book had been shot for TV with Alice Sapritch playing the mother. At this time, the french viewers had been impressed by her acting.Thirty years later, there is this new adaptation by Philippe de Broca. If you forget Alice Sapritch and equally the book, you can be enjoyed by the movie. Admittedly, there are some flaws in the Broca film. You can discuss the acting or you can find the voice off unpleasant. But this film is nice, it's enjoyable to see it. And it is not boring at any moment. It's too rare in the french cinema nowadays, not to be underlined.