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:

premature | 13 year old | mozart | reference to ludwig van beethoven | sex education | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

France Belgium

Language:

French

Release Date:

17 December 1978 (USA)

Also Known As:

Get Out Your Handkerchiefs

Filming Locations:

Ardennes, Wallonia, Belgium

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

Did You Know?

Connections

Featured in The 79th Annual Academy Awards (2007)

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Soundtracks

La Poursuite
Written and Performed by Georges Delerue Et Son Orchestre

User Reviews

French Twist

Describing the plot of this film is rather pointless, since it reads in black and white rather absurdly, even for a comedy. But it works! The acting is great, (including a handsome and youthful Depardieu before he turned into a sloppy behemoth), the jokes are funny and the direction and camerawork make you feel like you've been dropped into a Van Gogh. What I like about French movies or at least what i used to like, was their ability to transport you into their wonderful culture for the duration of the film. Over the past 20 years however, French cinema for many dynamic cultural and economic reasons, has slowly allowed its identity to slip away. If you've never been to France or are just yearning to take a return trip for 90 minutes or so, this film will give you as good a taste of the French way and outlook on life, as a 2 week Frommers trip.