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:

french sex comedy | humiliation | bottomless | forced nudity | pants pulled down | 

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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:

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

Did You Know?

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 The 79th Annual Academy Awards (2007)

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Soundtracks

Le Rapt
Written and Performed by Georges Delerue Et Son Orchestre

User Reviews

Dirty, funny and off-the-wall

"Get Out Your Handkerchiefs" begins as a typical French menage-a-trois tale, then goes off in original and unexpected directions (about which it is best not to be spoiled beforehand - read other reviews cautiously). It's well-made and often funny in a deadpan, understated way, but it's certainly not for the easily offended. *** out 4.