Tarzan's Cry

((LE CRI DE TARZAN))

By DAVID ROONEY

(FRENCH) A Serenade production. Produced by Benedicte Mellac, Vincent Dietschy. Directed, written by Thomas Bardinet.

"Tarzan's Cry" sketches the sputtering relationship between a tenacious Arab girl and the determinedly detached Bordeaux boy on whom she sets her romantic sights. A modest but tidily made low-budgeter, Thomas Bardinet's debut feature gets by on its easygoing tone and understated humor. Somewhat overlong, pic could be improved as a fest and TV attraction by trimming of its too unhurried midsection.

Forced into military service, standoffish Frederic (Julien Haurant) is equally indifferent to his army superiors, his middle-class family and his girlfriend, Lucie, who demands more than he's willing to give. At a local bar, he meets the owner's waitress daughter, Saliha (Hamida Bedjaoui), and a kind of instant affinity is born.

Their first kiss is sealed by some desert-style ululating from her and a Tarzanlike cry from him. Having initially cut through his barriers, Saliha continually ambushes him at work and with his friends. The firmness of her conquering spirit is disarmingly funny and played with real pluck by the diminutive actress.

Narrative then lurches ahead, somewhat clumsily, as Frederic goes AWOL from the barracks and takes Saliha off for a conjugal interlude on the Isle des Oiseaux in a nearby bay. The over-extended idyll finishes as abruptly as it begins.

When he returns to Bordeaux, Frederic is hauled out by his folks and his military superiors, but is quickly pardoned, while Saliha is locked away by her traditionalist father. She sends her kid brother as an emissary to tell Frederic she's pregnant. When he fails to respond, she forces his hand by publishing a detailed account of their tryst in the local newspaper.

While less adept with the adults, Bardinet coaxes easy, natural performances from the young cast members. Despite its awkward development here and there, story remains engaging and is peppered with unassuming but persuasive human observations.

Camera (color), Mathieu Poirot-Delpech; editor, Dominic Moll; music, Dick Annegarn. Reviewed at San Sebastian Film Festival (Open Zone), Sept. 20, 1995. Running time: 113 MIN.

With: Julien Haurant, Hamida Bedjaoui, Marie Vialle.

Variety is striving to present the most thorough review database. To report inaccuracies in review credits, please click here. We do not currently list below-the-line credits, although we hope to include them in the future. Please note we may not respond to every suggestion. Your assistance is appreciated.