Le Maître-nageur (1979)
Directed by Jean-Louis Trintignant

Film Review

Although he is best known as an actor (and one of France's finest at that), Jean-Louis Trintignant took a turn as a director in the 1970s and made two films, of which this is the second (the first being Une journée bien remplie, made six years earlier). A film which almost defies classification, Le Maître-nageur is as enjoyable to watch (for its surreal comedy) as it is frustrating.  The first half of the film breezes along with imagination and flair, with jokes and comic situations falling so fast it is hard to keep up.  Then, around the mid-way point the whole thing starts to slow down and thereafter it just loses its direction, drive and entertainment value. It's like watching a firework display where half of the fireworks fail to ignite.

Whilst it is an imperfect film, Le Maître-nageur has its charms, particularly for fans of Jean-Claude Brialy.  In a role which looks suspiciously as if it were written especially for him, this luminary of the French New Wave gets away with what is probably his most outrageously camp screen appearance (camper even than Jean-Luc Godard allowed him to get away with in Une femme est une femme (1961)).  The comedy is generally well orchestrated, an odd melange of Luis Buñuel and Monty Python. The setting and direction appear to be strongly influenced by the cult 1960s television series The Prisoner (the inclusion of the Radetsky March at one point removing any vestige of doubt).  Overall, this is an odd little piece of cinema, easy to fault, but somewhat harder to dislike.

Film Synopsis

This is the story of Marie, a woman whose dreams always come true.  Once, she dreamt that she would fall in love and would become incredibly rich.  Soon after, the first part of the dream became reality when she met up with Marcel, a penniless singer.  After living together in abject poverty for a time, the couple have a lucky break.  Marcel gets a job as a swimming attendant to the stupendously wealthy Mr Zopoulos.    As the billionaire is wheel-chair bound and has no desire to swim, Marcel is uncertain what his role is.  He quickly discovers that he is the plaything for Zopoulos and his very peculiar personal secretary, Logan...