Year: 1960
Director: Louis Malle
Country: France
Language: French
Malle's odd film depicts a satirical view of the French society: Twelve years old Zazie has to stay two days with her relatives in Paris, so that her mother can spend some time with her lover. However Zazie escapes her uncle's custody and sets out to explore Paris on her own.
Zazie Dans Le Metro is clearly an homage to the silent films that dominated the early twentieth Century. It is full of slapstick comedy and intelligently crafted sight gags that are reminiscent of Chaplin and the Keystone Film Company. It contain the rebellious spirit of Chaplin films as well; the main character Zazie goes against the grain of contemporary French society and throws order out the window, disrupting the shrewd adults into chaos. Despite being disorderly, twelve year old Zazie remains innocent, which give the movie its remarkable charm.
Louis Malle creates the film to seem as though we are viewing the world through a child's perspective. With its exceptionally quick pace and unusual editing style, it seem impossible to think that this version of Paris is an adult's reality. Lacking a coherent plot, Malle's film is much different than the common picture you have seen throughout the ages. Zazie Dans Le Metro is witty and yet confusing at the same time. Regardless at the end of the film your mouth will be wide open; either from laughing so hard or asking yourself "what did I just watch?"
In conclusion, though my experience of the film was more the latter ("what did I just watch?) one cannot deny that it is well made and certainly contains an important message about youth. Though it left me somewhat confused, I would definitely watch it again to grasp a better understanding. Zazie Dans Le Metro is worth your time. 3.5/5
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