The Story of a Cheat (1936)

This is also known by three other English titles: Confessions of a Cheat, The Story of a Trickster, and The Cheat. I guess that kind of multiplicity is more common for older foreign flicks. It is a little on the obscure side, being part of the Eclipse series from The Criterion Collection. Perhaps I had best identify it by its French title: Le roman d'un tricheur.

Written, directed by, narrated by, and starring Sacha Guitry, it never does name the protagonist, so discussions in English generally call him "the Cheat." The Cheat is presently in a cafe writing his memoirs, with most of the story illustrated in flashback. He begins with an incident at age 12 in which a punishment for theft unintentionally saves his life, giving him the lasting impression that a dishonest lifestyle pays off. From there, we get several episodes over the years in which he either shamelessly cheats or tries going straight, but life keeps throwing surprises his way. What lesson should he take to heart?

The most distinctive and pioneering thing about this movie is its nearly constant first-person narration, including past dialog in the narrator's voice. At first I thought this was one of those talkies retrofitted from a silent, like The Gold Rush or The Iron Mask, but scenes set in the present show people talking in their own voices. Even then, the Cheat usually does most of the talking, rather quickly. You'd think his throat would go hoarse by the end of 80 minutes.

It's especially challenging for members of the audience who rely on subtitles. At very few moments could I afford to take my eyes off the screen. Sometimes I got a little lost even when I hadn't looked away, because there's only so much I can absorb and analyze from reading in such a short time.

IMDb lists comedy as its only genre; Wikipedia implies a comedy-drama. I go with the latter, partly because the Cheat loses his entire family in that first incident and partly because, despite a decidedly comedic atmosphere, it rarely strikes me as remotely funny. I might have expected as much from an old French flick. Fortunately, it's not like much other class-focused European comedies I've seen, which seem to say, "Look at these boring, stuffy, petty, simple-minded aristocrats! Aren't they hilarious?"

In the end, I'm still not sure what to make of the lesson. Maybe it's a realistic recognition that this world is not consistently just or consistently unjust. Of course, attempts at realism work better without otherwise improbable events.

If you're interested in the history of world cinema, this isn't a bad choice, as you may notice its potential influence elsewhere. The short run time helps a bit. If you want to laugh, I'd sooner suggest something less removed in time and/or space.