À mort l'arbitre (1984)
Directed by Jean-Pierre Mocky

Film Review

In this, one of his blackest of black comedies, Jean-Pierre Mocky takes time out from attacking his usual targets (the state, the church, capitalism, and anyone else with money and power) and instead turns his satirical ire on football supporters - specifically the ones with Neanderthal tendencies who are likely to go on an orgy of destruction if their team fails to win a match. À mort l'arbitre was not a great commercial success when it was first released but it is now a cult classic, although it is hard to see how a film in which the pop singer Eddy Mitchell is hunted to his death by a seriously unhinged, axe-wielding Michel Serrault can have possibly attained this status (LOL).

Why Mocky cast the hyper-coiffured Eddy Mitchell as a football referee is hard to fathom - one suspects he might have been indulging in a personal fantasy. Serrault's casting as the deranged football supporter who turns into a one-man killing machine is more understandable - it's the kind of unhinged maniac role in which the actor excels - witness his nightmare-inducing portrayal in Les Fantômes du chapelier (1982). As our friend Michel and his army of thugs go chasing after Eddy Mitchell and his pal Carole Laure, the outcome is not hard to guess but Mocky has plenty of fun putting of the dreadful moment and if nothing else he convinces us that hunting pop stars who look like walking advertisements for hairspray is a far more respectable pastime than hunting foxes or wild boar.

Film Synopsis

Coachloads of supporters arrive at a football stadium for a decisive soccer match between two French football teams.  The match is refereed by Maurice Bruno.  He is the one who awards the penalty that decides the outcome of the match - and the supporters on the losing side are understandably infuriated by his decision.  The two opposing teams come to blows and Maurice narrowly escapes being caught in the mêlée.  Led by the hotheaded Rico, one group of supporters goes chasing after Maurice and his girlfriend Martine, intent on inflicting on them the severest form of chastisement possible.  The chase continues all over town and tensions are raised even further when one of the supporters accidentally kills another.  Now Rico and his friends will be satisfied with nothing less than the referee's death...