Un drôle de dimanche (1958) - film review

Jean Brevent has never been able to work out why his wife Catherine walked out on him.  Five years on, he meets her by chance on a  bus, but they are soon separated again. Jean trails his wife and discovers that she left him for another man, one of his former friends.  Realising that he has lost Catherine for ever, Jean decides to kill her during a day out in the country.  When she deduces what Jean has planned, his doting landlady Madame Harmier hurries after him to prevent the murder, accompanied by her daughter and her daughter’s trumpet-playing boyfriend Patrick...

This highly entertaining sentimental comedy provides a veritable conflux for some of the finest talent in French cinema, which includes Bourvil, Arletty, Danielle Darrieux and Jean-Paul Belmondo.   All four actors are on fine form and the film itself is a pleasing mélange of drama and comedy, sometimes intensely poignant, sometimes outrageously funny, overall and engaging and uplifting piece of cinema.

Although Bourvil is better known as a comic actor, this film allows him ample opportunity to show his worth as a serious actor.  Some of his scenes in this film have a heart-wrenching poignancy which makes watching this film a particularly rewarding experience.  Danielle Darrieux is equally captivating, and her talent as a singer as well as a great actress is put to good use.  The icing on the cake is Arletty, a one-time legend of French cinema, who, radiant as ever, manages to turn in an eye-catching performance as the eccentric Madame Harmier.

The film also features a sparkling young débutant, Jean-Paul Belmondo, in his first substantial film role.  This is an actor who would achieve stardom a year later for his part in Jean-Luc Godard’s landmark film A bout de souffle.  Subsequently, he would become one of the icons of French cinema, one of the most successful and popular actors of his generation.  Belmondo’s performance in this film caught the eye of a number of film critics, including Godard himself, who wrote in his critique of the film that Belmondo was likely to become the next Jules Berry or Michel Simon.

© James Travers 2002

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