Made in 1954 at the French National Film School by a student director named Louis Malle, Crazeologie is scarcely seen and commented upon. That's even though the director had quite a future ahead of him- Elevator to the Gallows (1958), Murmur of the Heart (1971) and Au revoir les enfants (1987). Malle works the music of jazz musician Charlie Parker into Crazeologie, something he would do again in his masterpiece Murmur of the Heart.
But Malle's greatest films are full-length- how well can he do with a short? Crazeologie clocks in at six minutes. There are great short films, but unfortunately, the word that best fits Crazeologie is "pointless." There is no story, no meaning and in spite of being an attempt at absurdism, there are no laughs. The bulk of the film has three men arguing over whether their sister is around; why this is a big deal is unclear. The end has one man repeatedly breaking Charlie Parker records; the repetition doesn't make it funny. Malle would go on to do great things- but there's little promise of that here.
But Malle's greatest films are full-length- how well can he do with a short? Crazeologie clocks in at six minutes. There are great short films, but unfortunately, the word that best fits Crazeologie is "pointless." There is no story, no meaning and in spite of being an attempt at absurdism, there are no laughs. The bulk of the film has three men arguing over whether their sister is around; why this is a big deal is unclear. The end has one man repeatedly breaking Charlie Parker records; the repetition doesn't make it funny. Malle would go on to do great things- but there's little promise of that here.
