Sur un arbre perché (1971) - film review

Henri Roubier is an industrialist who has negotiated a contract to build a national roadway, making himself a rich man in the process.  On his way to a meeting with the French Prime Minister, he gets caught up in a traffic jam and two hitch-hikers force their way into his car – a young man and a young woman, who have just met.  Roubier drives off at great speed – but his car goes over the edge of a cliff.  When the three regain consciousness, they discover that they are in car which is perched precariously on a tree growing out of the cliff face.  Below, is a fall of several hundred feet…

A film that looks as if it was written exclusively for Louis de Funes – indeed, it is difficult to imagine anyone else playing his role in this film – Sur un arbre perché is a typical early 1970s tongue-in-cheek satirical comedy.

Although there are a few intensely funny moments, the limitations of setting a story in a car on a tree are all too evident.  It really does look as if the script writer had to work very hard to get any humour out of the situation after the first half an hour.

However, after a brief lull of inertia towards its middle point, the film manages to bounce back with an entertaining satire of the attitudes of French police and the media when handling this kind of situation.  The television people are out in force, filming the rescue with the artificial hyped-up enthusiasm of a live game show.  Meanwhile, the jealous husband of the woman in the stranded car does everything he can to thwart the rescue attempt, whilst the police stand about convinced that there is nothing that can be done…  Thirty years on and the satire is still spot on. Plus ça change...

Strangely, the best part of this film is the opening credits, where a cartoon Louis de Funes performs unspeakable antics as cast and crew are credited.  You spend the first ten minutes of the film wondering what drugs the designer could have been on at the time...

© James Travers 2000

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