Ciao maschio (1978)

Director:

Marco Ferreri

Writers:

Marco Ferreri (idea)
Gérard Brach (scenario & adaptation) ...

Release Date:

24 February 1978 (Italy)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Sci-Fi

Plot:

A man walking on the beach near New York City finds the corpse of King Kong. He also finds Kong's orphaned son, and takes it to a friend who lives in the city, and they decide to raise it. |

Plot Keywords:

New York | Beach | Nudity | Male Nudity | Wax Museum

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Gérard Depardieu	...	Gerard Lafayette
Marcello Mastroianni	...	Luigi Nocello
James Coco	...	Andreas Flaxman
Geraldine Fitzgerald	...	Mrs. Toland
Abigail Clayton	...	Angelica (as Gail Lawrence)
Stefania Casini	...	Feminist Actress
Francesca De Sapio
Mimsy Farmer	...	Feminist Actress
Avon Long	...	Miko
Nathalie Bernart
Sandra Monteleoni
Enrico Blasi
Anselma Dell'Ollo
Luciano Pallocchia
Achille Antonaglia

Also Known As:

Bye Bye Monkey (USA)
Rêve de singe (France)

Runtime:

113 min | USA:94 min (cut version)

Country:

Italy | France

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.75 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:R | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Italy:VM18 | Finland:K-18 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

18 Dicembre

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Woody y yo (1981)

Gerard Depardieu And A Monkey

Marco Ferreri directed some of the most unusual films of the 1970s - from the castration love story "La Derniere Femme", to the gluttony fuelled orgy of "La Grande Bouffe". Bye Bye Monkey might not match those films for quality or shock value, but it most definitely surpasses them in the weirdness stakes.

Bye Bye Monkey is a rare exercise in cinematic existentialism that does not drown in its own pretence. In fact, the film's greatest achievement is that it somehow manages to be entertaining despite having a plot which basically involves Gerard Depardieu walking around with a monkey. There are, of course, detours from this central premise and they are just as perplexing. Ferreri offers a Roman wax museum subplot, feminist dancers interested in experiencing rape, a massive gorilla corpse/sculpture and a love scene between a young Depardieu and a then 65 year old Geraldine Fitzgerald. Did I mention that Gerard Depardieu incessantly blows a whistle throughout the film?

I'm really not sure what the film's deeper meaning is intended to be, assuming that it has one at all. Bye Bye Monkey contains so many ideas and passes comment on so many issues that I gave up trying to interpret them all. However, Ferreri's favourite theme of emasculation is unmissable in everything from the dancer rapists, to Luigi's sexual frustration and the birth registrar's comments on dressing Cornelius in girl's clothing. The film is never weighed down by its philosophy and there is just as much enjoyment to be had from the surreal imagery as from the film's ambiguous subtext.

Gerard Depardieu was doing his best work in the 1970s and he turns in another muscular performance as Lafayette. I can not imagine another major actor who would accept this role in the first place, let alone approach it with the conviction that Gerard does. Marcello Mastroianni is also great as Luigi, as is Geraldine Fitzgerald in her most controversial role. However, it is James Coco who almost manages to steal the show with his outrageously over the top performance as Mr Flaxman. As good as the actors are, this remains Ferreri's show and his direction is as stylish as ever.

Bye Bye Monkey is a real oddity of the 1970s. Ferreri was a truly unique director and this may be his most individual, if not most convincing, work.