Film Review
Monsieur Coccinelle is one of
the weirder French comedies of the 1930s. In fact, it is probably
fair to say that there isn't a film like it and for its time it is
breathtakingly original. A zanily anarchic, rampantly
anti-bourgeois piece, it stands out from the routine, totally
forgettable comedies that were prevalent in French cinema of the 1930s
and seems to be the product of a much later era (there's more than a
suggestion of Pythonesque madness about it). Not only is the film
deliriously funny, the most virulent assault on the habits and
attitudes of the middleclass, it is also endowed with its own unique
poetry. Presumably made on a lowish budget, the production values
are not great but what the film lacks in polish it more than makes up
for in charm and off-kilter humour.
This is is one of a number of eccentric comedies directed by Dominique
Bernard-Deschamps, who previously helmed the original screen adaptation
of
Le Rosier de Madame Husson,
starring Fernandel and Françoise Rosay. Bernard-Deschamps'
other claim to fame is that he worked with the inventor Henri
Chrétien on developing a form of widescreen cinema that would
ultimately result in the creation of Cinemascope. One of France's
best loved character actors of this period, Pierre Larquey shows a
remarkable flair for comedy as the titular M. Coccinelle. Larquey
is best remembered for his role as the creepy Dr Vorzet in H.G.
Clouzot's
Le Corbeau (1943) but he
appeared in over two hundred films, a feat that is all the more
remarkable when you consider that his film career did not begin until
he was 47.
Among the film's highlights is a hilarious sequence depicting M.
Coccinelle's doleful trudge into work and his jubilant return home in
the evening. Then there is the respectful wake following the
aunt's death which turns into a frenzied fly-swatting competition, and
a superb 'old dark house' parody in which our hero faces untold horrors
in the room of the deceased as he attempt to lay his hands on a box
containing his aunt's will. The funniest sequence is when
Coccinelle finds himself elevated to the status of a local celebrity
after his aunt's death. The whole town suddenly seems to know who
he is and, for the first and probably only time in his mediocre
existence, he is seen basking in the warm glow of recognition.
Why, you end up asking yourself, couldn't more French comedies of this
period be like this?
Monsieur
Coccinelle is a rare delight.
© James Travers 2014
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Film Synopsis
Alfred Coccinelle is a humdrum civil servant who leads a humdrum middle
class existence with his wife Mélanie and old maiden aunt
Aurore. The latter lives in a dream world, convinced that the man
who once promised her undying love, a handsome stage conjurer, will
return to her and rescue her from her life of perpetual monotony.
Alas, Aurore dies before her dream can be fulfilled and the Coccinelles
find themselves saddled with the cost and trouble of arranging a
funeral. But there is a bright side. The Coccinelles will
inherit their aunt's personal fortune and can look forward to a happier
future. Or so they think...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.