Les Aventures de Rabbi Jacob (1973) - film review

In his hurry to get to his daughter’s wedding, industrialist Victor Pivert forces his chauffeur, Salomon, to drive his car off the road and into a lake.  Salomon chooses this awkward moment to reveal that he is a Jew and cannot give his employer any further assistance until the Sabbath has passed.  Pivert has no choice but to continue his journey on foot.  He soon comes across a Chewing Gum factory where he hopes to find help.  Instead, he comes across a gang of Arab assassins who are about to execute a revolutionary, Slimane.  After a very messy confrontation, Pivert manages to escape with Slimane, hotly pursued by the Arab killers.   At Orly Airport, Pivert and Slimane narrowly escape capture by disguising themselves as Orthodox Jews.  Before Pivert can make it to safety, he is mistaken for Rabbi Jacob, a popular Jewish leader from New York...

Attracting an audience of 7.3 million in France alone, Les Aventures de Rabbi Jacob was by far the most popular film to be released in France in 1973.  The reason for its success is not hard to account for: the winning combination of director Gérard Oury and comic actor Louis de Funès.  This unbeatable team had already notched up three box office smashes in a row - Le Corniaud (1965), La Grande vadrouille (1966) and La Folie des grandeurs (1971) - and this would be yet another hit, although sadly it was to be their last collaboration.

Gérard Oury’s finest comedies have more than a touch of the comicbook about them, and this is no exception.  The episodic plot, the flagrant national stereotyping and relentless breakneck pace make this feel like a Tintin adventure that has overdosed on steroids, although the situations are much funnier than anything Hergé ever dreamed up, and often head off into the realm of Pythonesque surrealism.  No wonder Les Aventures de Rabbi Jacob is considered one of the all time French comedy classics when it offers such inspired set-pieces as a shoot-out in a chewing gum factory and the prospect of France’s number one racist having to disguise himself as a Jew and team up with a Muslim to save his skin.  The film is fast and funny, overflowing with visual gags and one-liners that never fail to get a laugh, no matter how many times you watch it.

Today the film comes across as unashamedly politically incorrect, and yet anyone who is offended by its superficial portrayal of Jews and Muslims is perhaps missing the point.  Beneath the comic hi-jinks there is a serious moral to this film, which is that communities of all races should work together to defeat a common enemy and not be solely concerned with their own petty affairs.  Post-9/11, this simple message has a far more powerful resonance than it did when the film was first released.  In a sense, the film is strangely prophetic and offers a beacon of hope for a world that risks being fragmented by sectarian self-interest and small-mindedness.

The great tragedy of Louis de Funès’ career is that his comedic talents were very rarely matched by the quality of the films he appeared in.  It took around a hundred film appearances in small supporting roles before de Funès was recognised as a comic genius and promoted to top billing.  But even then, at the height of his fame, the films he starred in were all too often bland, poorly scripted comedies which, although hugely popular, hardly made the best use of his talents.  Les Aventures de Rabbi Jacob is one of a mere handful of films which capitalise fully on de Funès’ genius for comedy, which is why it is considered one of his best films.  There is not a scene in this tour de force romp in which the actor gives less than one hundred per cent and fails to make his audience roll with laughter.  Covered in sticky green gunk one moment, forced to participate in a Jewish dance the next, Louis de Funès leaves us in no doubt that he was a unique comic talent, and easily the funniest man in French cinema since the great Max Linder.  He will keep us laughing for many, many years yet,

© James Travers 2010

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