Mon oncle Benjamin
1969 History / Comedy   
Director: Edouard Molinaro
Starring: Jacques Brel, Claude Jade, Bernard Alane, Rosy Varte, Paul Frankeur


 
Summary
France, 1750.  Benjamin Rathery is a young doctor whose reputation as a skirt chaser is as widely known as his generosity towards the poor folk of his town.  He is in love with Manette, the innkeeper’s beautiful daughter.  However, she has no intention of giving in to Benjamin until she sees the marriage contract, and he is strangely reluctant to give up his bachelor lifestyle...

Credits
  • Director: Edouard Molinaro
  • Script: André Couteaux, Jean-François Hauduroy, Edouard Molinaro, Claude Tillier (novel)
  • Photo: Alain Levent
  • Music: Jacques Brel, François Rauber, François de Roubaix
  • Cast: Jacques Brel (Benjamin Rathery), Claude Jade (Manette), Bernard Alane (Hector de Pont-Cassé), Rosy Varte (Bettine), Paul Frankeur (Dr Minxit), Alfred Adam (Le sergent), Bernard Blier (Marquis de Cambyse), Lyne Chardonnet (Arabelle Minxit), Robert Dalban (Jean-Francois)
  • Country: Italy / France
  • Language: French
  • Runtime: 95 min
  • Aka: My Uncle Benjamin



More French Comedy

 

Review
Jacques Brel clearly relishes his role as an amiable swashbuckling Don Juan in this entertaining historical farce and throws himself into the part body and soul.  The film was directed by Edouard Molinaro, who would later work with Brel on another popular comedy, L’Emmerdeur (1973), before scoring a major hit with his cult film La Cage aux folles (1978).  Whilst Brel is rightly best known for his work as a singer, he was also a very capable actor with a strong screen presence, as this film amply demonstrates.

Boasting some impressive production values, Mon oncle Benjamin doesn’t take itself too seriously, and whilst the plot does drag a little in a few places, it is, overall an enjoyable romp.  Admittedly, the reckless use of the whip zoom does become a little tiresome after a while, but every young filmmaker should be allowed one or two indulgences, and there are worse sins than giving your audience recurring bouts of nausea.  On a more positive note, the film has an impressive cast, which includes the wonderful Bernard Blier and the beautiful Claude Jade, the latter of whom had just made a name for herself in François Truffaut’s Baisers volés (1968).

© James Travers 2008



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