Une Partie De Campagne

Jean Renoir's A Day in the Country is a short and semisweet romantic vignette based on a story by Guy de Maupassant. A group of family members spend a day away from the city in the French countryside. While the men go off to fish, the mother (Jeanne Marken) has a harmless flirtation with a rural “rake,” while the daughter (Sylvia Bataille) has a more serious liaison with a handsome young man (George Saint-Saens).

Fourteen years later, the same family vacations at the same spot. The handsome stranger returns, hoping to renew his affair with the daughter; unfortunately, the girl is now married to a dull, insensitive jerk. The two former lovers ponder what might have been, then the family heads back to the city.

A Day in the Country currently exists only in a 40-minute version; Renoir had planned to film scenes depicting what happened in the years between the two holidays, but he closed down production due to an acute “creative block.”

Special Features:

• UN TOURNAGE DE CAMPANGE – a feature length documentary on the making of the film
• Audio Commentary by Dr. Anna Dzenis, Associate Lecturer in Film Studies, La Trobe University and Dr. Rick Thompson, Senior Lecturer in Film Studies, La Trobe University
• Insert booklet by Ian Johnston, film writer whose work has appeared in THE FILM JOURNAL and BRIGHT LIGHTS FILM JOURNAL

Critic Reviews:

• " The brazen carnality of A Day In The Country is refreshing even now. " – Noel Murray

• " Witty and sensuous, it's pure magic. " – Geoff Andrew

• " A delicious comedy that combines irony with emotions. " – Diego Galán