La Gitane (1986) - film review

Hubert Durieux is a banker in a small French town who is struggling to keep up with the demands of all the women in his life.  Between fending off the unwelcome attentions of his prim secretary and trying to contain the voluptuous excesses of his nymphomaniac mistress, he is constantly harassed by his ex-wife to show an interest in his daughter, who has just fallen out with her husband.  Just when things couldn’t get any worse, his precious white Citroën is stolen under his eyes by a beautiful gypsy girl, Mona.  Hubert tracks down the gypsy to a rubbish dump and is soon under her spell.  His life will never be the same again...

La Gitane is an action comedy which is definitively the work of Philippe de Broca.  Few other French film directors manage to combine the sophisticated comic dialogue which is the hallmark of a good French comedy with over-the-top action stunts, which are usually limited to thriller films.  Whilst the combination works remarkably well in some of de Broca’s other films (most notably his 1964 Belmondo film L’homme de Rio and, more recently in 1997, in his suburb comic version of the historical drama, Le bossu ), it is often less successful. La Gitane illustrates how the formula can go awry if the plot is lacking and the characterisation not fully developed.

La Gitane has some strong selling points, particularly an excellent comic performance from Claude Brasseur, and some hilariously funny moments.  The stunts are certainly impressive, although a few do look just a little violent for a comic film.  Unfortunately, the film is weakened by a plot which seems to wander all over the place, being over-reliant on its comic set-pieces to keep things moving.  The film’s ending is also a major disappointment.   Moreover, Valérie Kaprisky, who plays the gypsy girl, whilst physically stunning, just hasn’t the charisma or acting ability to pull of a lead role of the magnitude she has in this film.

Despite its flaws, the film is overall quite entertaining, with some good comic moments.  However, it really does not add up to much, and certainly does not show Philippe de Broca at his best.

© James Travers 2002

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