Le roi de coeur (1966)

Director:

Philippe de Broca

Writers:

Daniel Boulanger (scenario and dialogue)
Maurice Bessy (idea)

Release Date:

19 June 1967 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Comedy | War

Tagline:

De Broca's Crowning Touch!

Plot:

During the latter part of World War I, Private Charles Plumpick is chosen to go into the French town...

Plot Keywords:

French | WWI | Mental Hospital | Anti War | Lunatic

Cast

Pierre Brasseur	...	Gen. Geranium
Jean-Claude Brialy	...	The Duke
Geneviève Bujold	...	Coquelicot
Adolfo Celi	...	Col. Alexander MacBibenbrook
Françoise Christophe	...	The Duchess
Julien Guiomar	...	Bishop Daisy (Monseigneur Marguerite)
Micheline Presle	...	Madame Eglantine
Michel Serrault	...	Marcel
Alan Bates	...	Pvt. Charles Plumpick
Jacques Balutin	...	Mac Fish
Palau	...	Alberic
Pier Paolo Capponi		(as Paolo Capponi)
Madeleine Clervanne	...	Brunehaut
Marc Dudicourt	...	Lt. Hamburger
Jean Richard

Also Known As:

King of Hearts (USA)
Tutti pazzi meno io (Italy)

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

France | Italy

Language:

French | English | German

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Finland:K-12 | Sweden:11 | USA:Unrated | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Senlis, Oise, France

Company:

Fildebroc

Trivia:

Cited by lyrics author and poet Horacio Ferrer as a direct influence in his masterpiece "Balada para un loco", co-written with the great musician Astor Piazzolla.

Goofs:

Continuity: When soldiers put Plumpick on the piano, both legs are on, but when he is taken off, one leg is hanging off.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Dead End (1985)

Subversive Anti-War Fairy Tale

Perhaps I am biased because the female lead, Genevieve Bujold (Coquelicot / Poppy) reminds me of a young French girl whom I fell in love with, and then lost, 40 years ago - the very same year that I first saw the film (1966 or early 1967).

But personal memories apart, it is stunning to watch how French director Philippe de Broca managed to fuse hilarious fun and melancholy reflection in a mold that is an incredible mixture. There is fairy tale, commedia dell'arte, circus, slapstick, comedy, romance - and World War I carnage. Among the supporting roles, the cast features some of the foremost French actors of those times; and it is obvious that they enjoyed every bit of it, especially as they put in a number of biting quips along with marvelous cameos.

This is what happens: For one day Private Charles Plumpick (Alan Bates) becomes, rather against his will, the mock king of a group of lunatics. This motley crowd have escaped from their asylum and have temporarily taken possession of a deserted town in Northern France between the 1918 front lines. Eventually Plumpick owes it to his lunatic friends that he survives when his Scottish battalion and their German counterpart meet in battle. There seems to be no way out of the madness of war. But don't miss the penultimate scene! (Rumour has it that it was censored in the American version at the time...)

My favorite scene is when young, innocent Coquelicot takes the shortest way from the brothel (well - it's a French film, isn't it?) to the town hall to meet her loved one, the King of Hearts - using two telegraph wires as a tightrope.

Why the film was a flop in its own country, and why neither a DVD or at least a video tape is available in France, I simply do not understand. Is it because only the French speak French but the Scots speak English and the Germans speak German? (Note de Broca himself, very early in the film, in a 5 second cameo as Private Adolf Hitler!) No need to worry - there are subtitles to help you along. Actually the DVD recently on sale in the USA *is* the original French version! Subtitled, and uncensored, to be sure.

I cannot deny that the film does have its shortcomings. The story is somewhat inconsistent, there seem to be goofs galore, continuity is lousy. But then it seems that de Broca had to make do with a lousy budget, too. And what he has created is essentially a dream which opposes to the nightmare of war a vision of humanity. In such dreams inconsistency, goofs and lousy continuity do not really matter. So it is still 10 out of 10.