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Credits
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Summary
Dromard, an agent of the French secret service, is charged with recovering some priceless,
long lost documents, which are hidden in the sea somewhere off the coast of Corsica.
The only man who can help him is a former German soldier, the sole survivor of the commando
unit which hid the treasure during World war II. However, this lead is soon disposed
of by rival English and Russian agents, who are after the same thing as Dromard...
Review
Attention, Le Monocle noir is not what it first seems. Althought it begins
as an apparently sane, conventional French crime thriller, the film very quickly develops
into a bizarre parody, if not a farce, of the film noir genre (which was still
very popular in French cinema at the time the film was made).
This was the first of Georges Lautner’s enormously successful comedy thrillers (followed by Les Tontons Flinguers and Les Barbouzes, amongst others). Le Monocle noir is slightly different in that it adheres to the film noir formula more closely than its successors and the comic elements of the film are slightly less skilfully woven into the film's narrative. Take away the comedy, this would be pure film noir. The elusive characters, high body count and, most tellingly, the moody photography anchor the film firmly in the universe of Jean-Pierre Melville and John Huston, with a bit of Ian Fleming thrown in for good measure. Lautner's genius was to recognise the extraordinary comic potential in this familiar genre, potential which he taps into with extraordinary success in this film. The star of the film is the redoutable Paul Meurisse, an eccentric actor who established himself in the 1950s, predominantly in tough crime thrillers, often playing villains of questionable sanity. In Le Monocle Noir, Meurisse appears in arguably his most memorable role, a role than no one in the history of cinema could have played half as well. The debonair secret agent, immaculately dressed, with a look that can apparently seduce any woman at a 100 paces in thick fog is definitively Paul Meurisse - the actor creates the most brilliant caricature of himself. Without even attempting to be funny, Meurisse provides the film with its funniest moments, most memorably the scenes where he is called upon to dance and swim (not, mercifully, at the same time). Some may lament this burlesque corruption of the film noir genre, others may dismiss it a cheap farce with a thriller theme. However, judging by its remarkable popularity on its initial release in France and its enduring appeal ever since, the Lautner blend of comedy and thriller must be regarded as one of the most successful formulae in French cinema. © James Travers 2001 Write a review for this film... |
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