When most people retire they are lucky to walk away with a clock
or wristwatch.
Pierre Mondy's work colleagues are a more
considerate bunch and make him a present of a call girl -
a far kinder way of helping the retiree to fill the
empty days that lie ahead...
Whilst it has a habit of veering dangerously close to a cheap
American sex comedy, Le Cadeau
manages to rise above the familiar clichés and is, over all, an
engaging and entertaining little comedy.
Pierre Mondy brings humour and pathos to his portrayal of a man struggling to bring some passion back
into his life (although you'd have thought that wouldn't be too
difficult if you were married to Italian beauty Claudia
Cardinale).
The storyline is pretty weak, marred by a secondary
subplot that makes little, if any, sense, but there are some good jokes,
Michel Lang's direction has a few inspired moments,
and the beautifully shot location sequences in Venice add a touch of
class.
Previously, Lang had had some success with his lowbrow comedies
À nous les petites Anglaises! (1976) and
L'Hôtel de la plage (1978),
but, his cinema career on the wane in the 1980s, he switched over to
television in the 1990s.
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Film Synopsis
When banker Grégoire Dufour announces his decision to take early
retirement at the age of 55, his colleagues decide to offer him the
ultimate leaving present, a call girl. On a train bound for Milan
for a final business trip, Grégoire meets Barbara, the woman
of his dreams, and allows
himself to be lured to Venice for a rapturous extra-marital
fling. Unbeknown to him, his successor at the bank is also in
Venice, with the intention of seducing Charlotte, his son's
ex-girlfriend...
Script: Michel Lang, Italo Terzoli (play),
Enrico Vaime (play)
Cinematographer: Daniel Gaudry
Music: Michel Legrand
Cast:Pierre Mondy (Grégoire Dufour),
Claudia Cardinale (Antonella Dufour),
Clio Goldsmith (Joyane, aka Barbara),
Jacques François (Jacques Loriol),
Renzo Montagnani (L'émir Fayçal de Krator),
Cécile Magnet (Charlotte Legueden),
Henri Guybet (André),
Rémi Laurent (Laurent),
Yolanda Jilot (Jennifer),
Laurence Badie (Marie-Laure),
Christophe Bourseiller (Jean-Philippe Loriol),
Duilio Del Prete (Umberto),
Leila Fréchet (Sandrine),
Robert Le Béal (Pierrot),
Paul Mercey (Gastounet),
André Chaumeau (Pinchon),
Sébastien Floche (Le nouvel employé de la banque),
Jean Luisi (Un contrôleur SNCF),
Jacqueline Dufranne,
Caroline Jacquin
Country: France / Italy
Language: French
Support: Color
Runtime: 100 min
Aka:Bankers Also Have Souls ;
The Gift
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