From Text To Screen: Portraits of Collaboration in Uranus

Abstract

In this article, I explore how collaborators are portrayed in Marcel Aymé's 1948 novel Uranus and Claude Berri's 1990 film adaptation, with particular emphasis on analysing the differences in attitudes towards and punishments for ideological and material collaboration. Whereas Aymé's version presents a bitter criticism of the post-war purges, one in which nearly every character is guilty of some form of collaboration, Berri's version downplays the extent and softens the consequences of collaboration, and thus offers a less pessimistic view of France in 1945. Next, I examine Aymé's 'suspect' reputation as a supporter of notorious collaborationists such as Robert Brasillach, and explore parallels between France's prosecution of writers and the novel's portrayal of the hunt for the collaborationist journalist Maxime Loin. Finally, I address how the novel and film demonstrate changing attitudes towards history.

Department(s)

Arts, Languages, and Philosophy

Keywords and Phrases

Claude Berri; Collaboration; Marcel Aymé; Post-war French fiction; Uranus

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

0957-1558

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2010 Audra L. Merfeld-Langston, All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Aug 2010

Link to Full Text

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