Get Out Your Handkerchiefs (1978)

A worried husband finds a lover for his depressed wife, but she falls in love with a bullied thirteen-year-old math prodigy and wants to have the boy's baby.

Director:

Bertrand Blier

Writer:

Bertrand Blier

Stars:

Gérard Depardieu, Carole Laure, Patrick Dewaere

Won 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gérard Depardieu	...	Raoul
Patrick Dewaere	...	Stéphane
Carole Laure	...	Solange
Michel Serrault	...	Le voisin / Neighbor
Eléonore Hirt	...	Madame Beloeil
Jean Rougerie	...	Mr. Beloeil
Sylvie Joly	...	La passante / Passerbeil
Riton Liebman	...	Christian Beloeil (as Riton)
Liliane Rovère	...	Bartender
Michel Beaune	...	Le médecin dans la rue
Roger Riffard	...	Le médecin du port
André Thorent	...	Le professeur
André Lacombe	...	Le délégué syndical
David Gabison	...	Le quidam (as Alain David Gabison)
Gilberte Géniat	...	L'ouvreuse du théâtre

Storyline

Solange is depressed: she's stopped smiling, she eats little, she says less. She has fainting fits. Her husband Raoul seeks to save her by enlisting Stephane, a stranger, to be her lover. Although he listens to Mozart and has every Pocket Book arranged in alphabetical order, Stephane fails to cheer Solange. She knits. She does housework. Everyone, including their neighbor a vegetable vendor, agrees that she needs a child, yet she fails to get pregnant by either lover. The three take a job running a kids' summer camp where they meet Christian, the precocious 13-year-old son of the local factory manager. It is Christian who restores Solange to laughter.

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Plot Keywords:

underage sex | bottomless | forced nudity | pants pulled down | sexual initiation | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Both men, and one boy, who are Solange's lovers in this film wear the same cable knit turtleneck sweater. Director Bertrand Blier obviously meant this to be symbolic.

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Alternate Versions

Due to possible problems with the Child Protection Act UK cinema and video versions were cut by 5 secs to edit a scene where Christian looks at Solange's naked body as she lays in bed. The cuts were later waived for the 15-rated 2007 DVD.

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Connections

Featured in Sneak Previews: The North Avenue Irregulars/The Last Wave/Agatha/Norma Rae/Get Out Your Handkerchiefs (1979)

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Soundtracks

Après L'Accident
Written and Performed by Georges Delerue Et Son Orchestre

User Reviews

A refreshing and surprisingly intelligent look at the perils of relationships

"Get Our Your Handkerchiefs" is a funny little film about the need for sexual gratification and all the insecurities and absurdities it entails. The humor is unapologetically raunchy, and yet the story retains all the sophistication of something by Lubitsch. But it's also quite touching; the dismal woman, it turns out, only wanted someone she could identify with, someone who felt the same need for intellectual companionship that was masked by her sexual dissatisfaction. The solution is provided by a 13-year-old wunderkind who, unlike the husband or his friend, knows how to relate to the woman, and their relationship is far more real and convincing that any other in the story. Bertrand Blier constructed a film that questions and ultimately debunks nearly every `rule' on relationships, and provides more than a few belly laughs along the way. In a nutshell, "Get Our Your Handkerchiefs" is one of the few sex comedies out there that actually has something to say about sex.

Details

Country:

France Belgium

Language:

French

Release Date:

17 December 1978 (USA)

Also Known As:

Get Out Your Handkerchiefs

Filming Locations:

Restaurant Le Wepler, 14 Place de Clichy, Paris 18, Paris, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Belga Films, C.A.P.A.C., Les Films Ariane

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1