''Partie de campagne'' (;

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

: ''A Day in the Country'') is a 1946 French

featurette In the American film industry, a featurette is a kind of film that is shorter than a full-length feature, but longer than a short film. The term may refer to either of two types of content: a shorter film or a companion film. Medium-length film ...

written and directed by

Jean Renoir Jean Renoir (; 15 September 1894 – 12 February 1979) was a French film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and author. As a film director and actor, he made more than forty films from the silent film, silent era to the end of the 1960s. ...

. The film is based on the short story "Une partie de campagne" (1881) by

Guy de Maupassant Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant (, ; ; 5 August 1850 – 6 July 1893) was a 19th-century French author, remembered as a master of the short story form, as well as a representative of the Naturalist school, who depicted human lives, destin ...

, who was a friend of Renoir's father, the renowned painter

Auguste Renoir Pierre-Auguste Renoir (; 25 February 1841 – 3 December 1919) was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty and especially feminine sensuality, it has been said that " ...

. It chronicles a love affair over a single summer afternoon in 1860 along the banks of the

Seine ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributarie ...

. Renoir never finished filming due to weather problems, but producer

Pierre Braunberger Pierre Braunberger (29 July 1905, Paris – 16 November 1990, Aubervilliers) was a French producer, executive producer, and actor. Biography Born into a family of physicians, Braunberger at the age of seven was already determined not have t ...

turned the material into a release in 1946, ten years after it was shot.

Joseph Burstyn Joseph Burstyn (born Jossel Lejba Bursztyn; December 15, 1899 – November 29, 1953) was a Polish-American film distributor who specialized in the commercial release of foreign-language and American independent film productions. Life and career B ...

released the film in the U.S. in 1950.

Plot

Monsieur Dufour (

André Gabriello André Gabriello (1896–1975) was a French film actor. A character actor known for his supporting roles, notable appearances included Jean Renoir's '' Partie de campagne'' (1936) and Maurice Tourneur's ''Cecile Is Dead'' (1944).Waldman p.165 He w ...

), a shop-owner from

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, takes his family for a day of relaxation in the country. When they stop for lunch at the roadside restaurant of Poulain (Jean Renoir), two young men there, Henri ( Georges D'Arnoux) and Rodolphe (

Jacques B. Brunius __NOTOC__ Jacques B. Brunius (born Jacques Henri Cottance, 16 September 1906 – 24 April 1967) was a French actor, director and writer, who was born in Paris and died in Exeter, UK. He was cremated in Sidmouth, with a tribute by Mesens. Assistan ...

), take an interest in Dufour's daughter Henriette (

Sylvia Bataille Sylvia Bataille (born Sylvia Maklès; 1 November 1908 – 22 December 1993) was a French actress of Romanian-Jewish descent. When she was twenty, she married the writer Georges Bataille with whom she had a daughter, the psychoanalyst Laurence Bata ...

) and wife Madame Dufour ( Jane Marken). They scheme to get the two women off alone with them. They offer to row them along the river in their

skiff A skiff is any of a variety of essentially unrelated styles of small boats. Traditionally, these are coastal craft or river craft used for leisure, as a utility craft, and for fishing, and have a one-person or small crew. Sailing skiffs have devel ...

s, while they divert Dufour and his shop assistant and future son-in-law, Anatole ( Paul Temps), by lending them some fishing poles. Though Rodolphe had arranged beforehand to take Henriette, Henri maneuvers it so that she gets into his skiff. Rodolphe then good-naturedly settles for Madame Dufour. As Henri rows, Henriette expresses her enthusiasm for the countryside. Henri suggests that she could come visit again, on her own, by train if necessary, and offers to meet her. Henriette says that her father would never permit it. Henri rows to a secluded spot on the riverbank which he refers to as his "private office". Henriette initially resists his amorous advances, but stops struggling after a moment. A rainstorm that has been threatening all afternoon arrives, but the party's return to the inn is not depicted. Title cards indicate that years have passed and that Henriette has married Anatole. One day, they end up at the place where Henri seduced Henriette. While Anatole dozes, his wife takes a walk, and encounters Henri. With tears in her eyes, she reminisces about their brief time together. Then, when Anatole wakes up, Henri hides until they leave.

Cast

as Henriette * Georges D'Arnoux as Henri * Jane Marken as Madame Dufour *

as Monsieur Dufour *

as Rodolphe * Paul Temps as Anatole *

Gabrielle Fontan Gabrielle Fontan (16 April 1873 – 8 September 1959) was a French film actress. She appeared in more than 120 films between 1927 and 1959. Selected filmography * '' Misdeal'' (1928) * '' The Crime of Sylvestre Bonnard'' (1929) * '' The La ...

as Grandmother *

as Uncle Poulain *

Marguerite Renoir Marguerite Renoir (born Marguerite Houllé) was a French film editor who worked on more than 60 films during her career. For many years, she and director Jean Renoir were lovers, and she edited many of his films. Although she and Renoir never mar ...

as Waitress

Production

Future leading directors

Jacques Becker Jacques Becker (; 15 September 1906 – 21 February 1960) was a French film director and screenwriter. His films, made during the 1940s and 1950s, encompassed a wide variety of genres, and they were admired by some of the filmmakers who led th ...

and

Luchino Visconti Luchino Visconti di Modrone, Count of Lonate Pozzolo (; 2 November 1906 – 17 March 1976) was an Italian filmmaker, stage director, and screenwriter. A major figure of Italian art and culture in the mid-20th century, Visconti was one of the fat ...

worked as Renoir's assistant director and set dresser respectively. The film was shot in July, soon after France had elected the

Popular Front A popular front is "any coalition of working-class and middle-class parties", including liberal and social democratic ones, "united for the defense of democratic forms" against "a presumed Fascist assault". More generally, it is "a coalition ...

government, and employers had negotiated the Matignon agreement, providing wage increases, 40-hour weeks, trade union rights, paid holidays and improved social services.

References

External links

* *
''A Day in the Country: Jean Renoir’s Sunday Outing''
an essay by Gilberto Perez at the

Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films." Criterion serves film and media scholars, cinep ...

{{Jean Renoir 1946 films 1946 short films 1946 romantic drama films French romantic drama films Films about vacationing Films based on works by Guy de Maupassant Films directed by Jean Renoir 1940s French-language films 1940s unfinished films Featurettes French black-and-white films French drama short films Films scored by Joseph Kosma 1940s French films