Film Review
Former screenwriter Alex Joffé started his fairly brief filmmaking
career with the off-kilter comedy
Six heures à perdre (1947),
and followed this with eleven further films made between 1953 and 1968.
His most notable films are
Les Hussards (1955),
Fortunat
(1960) and
Les Culottes rouges,
which was released on 19th December 1962. All three of these
films are coincidently (or not) war films. Based on an original
script by Joffé himself and the actor Étienne Berry (who
also plays a supporting role) the film is concerned with two
prisoners-of-war who have nothing in common but must join forces in an
escape attempt.
Les Culottes
rouges is a rare French film that talks about wartime prisoners
in an original and touching way (another example being Henri Verneuil's
La Vache et le prisonnier).
It derives it title from the name given to those who made repeated
attempts to escape from prisoner of war camps. The camp itself
can be considered a microcosm of Nazi occuppied France.
This little known comedy-drama has some funny and moving moments, and
is an astute commentary on the period it portrays. Alex
Joffé may not have been a genius but he is a sensitive filmmaker
with a penchant for character detail, able to deliver an interesting
and poignant piece of cinema with broad appeal. After
Fortunat,
Les Culottes rouges is easily his
best film and is similarly distinguished by a magnificent performance
from André Raimbourg, alias Bourvil. Here, Bourvil shows
his remarkable range as an actor in the role of the poor wretch
Fendard, a sort of collaborator who is the epitome of a good
prisoner. Egocentric and intolerant, the part of Antoine Rossi is
brilliantly played by Laurent Terzieff, another fine actor.
Les Culottes rouges was one of
Joffé's most successful films, attracting an audience of two
million in France.
© James Travers, Willems Henri (Brussels, Belgium) 2012
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Film Synopsis
During WWII, Antoine Rossi is a prisoner in a POW camp in
Germany. He has made several attempts to escape, but on each
occasion he has failed and has to wear short red trousers as a warning
to other would-be fugitives. Antoine is not deterred, however,
and prepares to make yet another break-out attempt. Hiding
beneath the stage of the camp theatre, he is discovered by Fendard,
another prisoner of a timid and cowardly disposition. Antoine
coerces the latter into helping him escape and, for once, it looks as
if he will succeed. But Antoine's luck soon changes for the worse
and he finds himself at Fendard's mercy. Should Fendard help the
man who has threatened and intimidated him, or should he leave him and
save himself...?
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.