Les Galettes de Pont-Aven (1975) - film review

Henri Serin is a modest umbrella salesman whose sole pleasures in life are sex and painting, hobbies he is unable to share with his prudish wife.  When his car breaks down one day, he is offered a lift from a strange poet, who invites him to spend the night in his home.  Whilst his car is being repaired, Henri gets to know the inhabitants of the village where he is staying, and realises that the time has come for him to change his life.  He gives up his job and his wife and intends to live the life of an artist…

The incomparable Jean-Pierre Marielle gives one of his most glorious O.T.T. performances in this off-the-wall and distinctly saucy comedy.  The rambling narrative, clumsy direction and gratuitous use of sex jokes are just about made up for by the film’s unusual style, eccentric performances and Marielle’s convincing and entertaining portrayal of a man succumbing to a mid-life crisis.

© James Travers 2005

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