Toni (1935) [Criterion Collection]

Director: Jean Renoir
Writer: Jean Renoir (screenplay), Jacques Levert (based upon material compiled by)
Stars: Charles Blavette, Celia Montalván, Jenny Hélia

In 1934, Jean Renoir stepped off the soundstage and headed to the South of France, where he captured vivid human drama amid the bucolic splendor and everyday social rituals of the countryside. Based on a true story and set in a community of immigrants living, working, and loving on the margins of French society, Toni follows the eponymous Italian migrant (Charles Blavette), whose tempestuous affairs with two women—the faithful Marie (Jenny Hélia) and the flirtatious Josefa (Celia Montalván)—unleash a wave of tragedy. Making use of nonprofessional actors, on-location shooting, and the resources of the great Marcel Pagnol’s Provence studio, Renoir crafts a marvel of poetic feeling that became a precursor to Italian neorealism and a favorite of the directors of the French New Wave.

Extras:
- New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
- Audio commentary from 2006 featuring critics Kent Jones and Phillip Lopate
- Introduction by director Jean Renoir from 1961
- Episode of Cinéastes de notre temps from 1967 on Renoir, directed by Jacques Rivette and featuring a conversation with actor Charles Blavette about the film (98 min)
- New video essay about the making of Toni by film scholar Christopher Faulkner
- New English subtitle translation




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