cstotlar-1 I don't particularly relish being the odd man out here but a I found this film exhausting to watch. It is amusing however to see the author show off his stuff with the camera and editing and in fact parts of it DO look Nouvelle Vaguish. Even by French standards the girl here - Zazie - has a foul mouth and her insolence does wear on the nerves quite a bit even by midway through the viewing. The film is or isn't going somewhere/ nowhere very, very fast. In all honesty this is nothing next to "Lacombe Lucien" or "Au Revoir Les Enfants" or even "Atlantic City" where Malle practically glows in the dark. It feels to me like a film with a few skits that's been pumped up to the length of a full-length movie and I found myself really rather happy to see all the action come to a halt. Tant pis!

Rodrigo Amaro "Zazie dans le Metro" is the kind of movie that owes its relative positive outcomes more to its style than to its comedy of errors kind of humor. Having been made as an American film and this would be considered a disaster. Why? It would lose in style, technique, good cultural references and meaningful message. Don't be fooled, "Zazie" has a message in between scenes. Despite an apparent lovely child as the main character and the apparent comedic routine of the film, this is more inclined to be a grown up's picture than one suitable for children - they can watch but the easily impressible ones in the audience will keep asking their parents the meaning some of the words used by the girl, many of them cursing. So, if you want to insist on watching this with a kid be warned that you're going to be just like the adult characters of this explaining everything to the kid.It tells the story of a 12 year-old country girl (Catherine Demongeot) who is left with her uncle (Philippe Noiret), a performer artist, while her mother is spending a lovely time with her boyfriend. She flees from the house with the intent of taking the subway, but that plan fails because they're on a strike, so the rest of the movie is her sort of understandable childish behavior against the fact, so she explores the city and creates a lot of confusion against anyone she sees.Cartoonish, filled of speed-up images, running as if it were an imitation of a Bugs Bunny gag, "Zazie dans le Métro" would be an interesting film if it had some coherence rather than just creating images just for fun. An adventurous piece about a girl discovering herself and learning about what growing up means, ultimate message of the film, would be great. The clownish tone of it was distractive and flat. I was reminded of "Amèlie", since it shared a young female's magical and unusual vision around a big city, it's her small world colliding very beautifully with other persons, other realities, forming a reflexive image about society. Both are colorful and fast paced works, carried with visual style and splendorous editing tricks. "Amèlie" is better because it has somewhere to go while "Zazie" is pure slapstick, losing humor the more it progresses. It's not a bad movie, but it's not so dignifying of having a terrific director like Louis Malle writing and directing it and let's face it, humor doesn't suit him. His greatest works are all dramas (see "Au Revoir Les Enfants" or "Damage"). It's a good picture, indeed, genius in its creative compositions, elaborated sequences (the breathless one in the Eiffel Tower takes the cake), paying an homage to the silent era but it's a real tough break to endure the annoying little brat, her mannerisms and language (not believable in the 1960's context) which isn't funny or humored because she's mistreating people who are good to her and undeserving of such treatment.I liked what I saw even though I laughed only once or twice. Mr. Noiret was a class act and made this a very enjoyable film along with the great locations. And don't be fooled by the false advertising, she only spends ten seconds in the subway and doesn't even notice. 6/10

jotix100 Zazie, a young girl from the provinces, is brought to Paris by her mother, who wants to spend some time with her lover. When asked by her uncle what part of Paris she wants to see, she answers: the metro! Zazie's wish was not to come true because of a transit strike in the city that has closed the underground system. The result is chaos in the streets where thousand vehicles try to go nowhere.The young girl surprises because of her dirty mouth. She can out curse even the most experts in the subject. A trip to see the Eiffel Tower with her uncle Gabriel, brings the young girl face to face with tourists and an assortment of people she has never seen in her life. Deciding to take off to explore on her own, puts Zazie in touch with a series of Parisian characters that she would not see otherwise in her more provincial setting.Louis Malle's "Zazie dans le Metro" was his third film. He was clearly paying homage to the silent films of the beginning of the century. The flavor of the picture reminded us of the Keystone Kops with its frantic pacing and running gags. The style of the film is quite in contrast with the previous movies of Mr. Malle. Perhaps the chaos in the film stands as a metaphor for the way he perceived things in a metropolis like Paris.A young Philippe Noiret, who up to then had been seen a lot of television, makes a wonderful Gabriel, the entertainer at a small cabaret. Young Catherine Demongeot plays Zazie with an intensity that her nine years made possible. Vittorio Caprioli shows up in several disguises. Carla Marlier makes a wonderful Albertine, the almost silent wife of Gabriel. Yvonne Clech, Hubert Deschamps and the rest of the crew contribute to the zaniness of the atmosphere created by Mr. Malle.

Robert Hirschfeld I saw "Zazie" in Paris in 1962, and my French at that time was rudimentary. Nevertheless, for sheer manic energy, wonderful visual comedy, and performances that transcended the language barrier, I loved it. I've seen it since and still love it. Among its other virtues for me, this film introduced me to the marvelous actor Philippe Noiret. Malle proved to be a director with virtually unlimited range with respect to style and mood. Consider some of his other fine films: "Lacombe, Lucien," "Atlantic City," "Murmur of the Heart," and "My Dinner with Andre," to name only a few. I guess what Richard Lester did with the Beatles might be close to this when it comes to sheer antic charm, but I think "Zazie"still stands alone. Unless you have zero tolerance for whimsy and insist on Deep Meaning in your movies, I think that you're likely to enjoy this one...if you can find it.