Far West (1973)
Directed by Jacques Brel

Film Review

When his first directorial offering, Franz (1971), proved to be a critical and commercial failure, Jacques Brel was reluctant to direct another film but was persuaded to do so by Claude Lelouch.  Although Lelouch's contribution to Far West was in the capacity of producer, he might well have directed the film himself, so closely does Brel imitate his zany style of humour (compare with L'aventure c'est l'aventure), cinematic excesses (swooping camera shots, many taken from a helicopter) and almost total lack of screenwriting rigour.  Far West is silly and self-indulgent but Brel's presence (on both sides of the camera) makes it an amiable romp which reworks an old idea (Voltaire's Candide springs readily to mind) in the form of an amusing comicbook fantasy.

The gags are mostly awful, the plot almost non-existent and the ludicrously over-the-top camera movements are guaranteed to give you motion sickness, but there's also a great charm to the film, which comes partly from Brel's musical interludes but also from the fact that no one seems to be taking it remotely seriously.  Predictably, the film fared little better than its predecessor and Brel gave up directing after this - in fact, he  appeared in just one more film, Édouard Molinaro's L'Emmerdeur (1973).  What is perhaps most interesting about Far West is that the character Brel plays - a solitary dreamer in search of some elusive idea of happiness - resembles Brel in his final years, sailing the world and enjoying to the full the freedom that was his.

Film Synopsis

Dressed as a cowboy, 40-year-old Jacques makes his way across present-day Belgium in pursuit of a dream.  He wants to go to the Far West and begin a new life.  On the way, he  meets Gabriel, a man dressed as Davy Crockett who shares his dream, and then acquires a strange power from a failed illusionist.  As they search for their promised land, accidentally knocking down walls as they go, Jacques and Gabriel are joined by some other misfits and eventually they find the Far West,  in the form of an abandoned mine.  Their adventure has just begun...