Les chinois à Paris (1974)

Director:

Jean Yanne

Writers:

Robert Beauvais (novel)
Robert Beauvais (screenplay)

Release Date:

28 February 1974 (France)

Genre:

Comedy | Fantasy

Plot:

Overnight, Paris is invaded - although peacefully - but the Chinese Army, and millions of Chinese people... It's the Nazi occupation all over again, with modern - funny - twists. |

Plot Keywords:

Chinese | Occupation | Communist | Paris France | Satire

Cast

Jean Yanne	...	Régis Forneret
Nicole Calfan	...	Stéphanie
Macha Méril	...	Madeleine
Michel Serrault	...	Grégoire Montclair
Kyozo Nagatsuka	...	Pou-Yen
Georges Wilson	...	Lefranc
Jacques François	...	Hervé Sainfous de Montaubert
Fernand Ledoux	...	Frugebelle
Paul Préboist	...	Fonctionnaire / Civil servant
Daniel Prévost	...	Fontanes
Bernard Blier	...	Président de la République Française
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Régis Ander
Yves Barsacq	...	Le général moustachu au bérêt rouge
Daniel Basset
Fernand Berset
Jean-Marie Bon
Michel Charrel
Michel Delahaye
Jean-Michel Desjeunes
Max Desrau
Bernard Duchemin
Robert Favart
André Gaillard
Jacques Galland
Irina Grjebina	...	Entraîneur de pousse-pousse
Raoul Guylad
Charles Kassapian
Georges Léon
Jean-Louis Maury
Paul Mercey	...	Un résistant
Christian Noël
Jacques Provins
Lawrence Riesner	...	Le conseiller du Président de la République
William Sabatier
Maurice Vamby	...	Un résistant
Lionel Vitrant	...	Un bagarreur
Teddy Vrignault

Also Known As:

Chinese in Paris (International: English title)
I cinesi a Parigi (Italy)

Runtime:

USA:115 min | France:115 min

Country:

France | Italy

Language:

French

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:(Banned) (1974) | Sweden:15

Company:

Ciné Qua Non

Hooray - another finger in the eye of political correctness !

In the days before the yoke of political correctness enslaved western Europe and the USA, there were many films calling into question political parties, affairs, régimes etc. This is one of those films, an acid "satirical comedy" on life in Paris under a hypothetical Chinese occupation of that city. In the end, the Chinese are obliged to leave because the French have led them down the sinister paths of over-fornication, over-eating and over-womanizing. The film is above all a satire of the collaboration of the French with the Nazi occupants in Paris during WW2. We see fair-weather friends, the resistance who does an about turn, those who get rich at the expense of everyone else etc, the clergy who turn a blind eye to the occupant etc. Everyone is attacked in this joyous satire. The Chinese make their headquarters in the Galeries Lafayette, an important and beautiful department store, many other buildings are requisitioned. Jacques François is the obsequious "Mediator" on problems between the Chinese and the French. Michel Serrault plays the ugliest rôle of the lot, the worst species of collaborator. Jean Yann who is the main star of the film converts his Notre Dame Sex Shop into a Notre Dame Chop Suey and gets rich at the expense of everyone else. At the time of the liberation of Paris in World War 2, women who had been suspected of "horizontal collaboration", i.e. fornicating with the Nazis, had their heads shaved in public - we see that in this film too. The film is overlong for my tastes and there is a rather soporific Opera spectacle which wasted a good few minutes. Nevertheless it has the merit of having been made and seen by the French public. I happened to be in France in 1974 when the film came out and remember all sorts of protests about it by the Chinese population in France !! It would't be possible to bring out such a film now as it would be attacked as being racist or some other similar rubbish. It has just been issued on DVD here as part of the "Jean Yanne Collection" and the picture quality is so good that you would think it had only been made yesterday.