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In 1988, the Figaro magazine asked to a few famous directors a series of short movies, to celebrate the 10 years of the revue. The thematic : The French seen by - The movies have been released for the French revolution bicentenary.

Stars:

Harry Dean Stanton, Frederic Golchan, Jack Nance

Cast

Series cast summary:
Harry Dean Stanton	...	Slim 2 episodes, 1988
Frederic Golchan	...	Pierre the Frenchman 2 episodes, 1988
Jack Nance	...	Pete 2 episodes, 1988
Tracey Walter	...	Dusty 2 episodes, 1988
Michael Horse	...	Broken Feather 2 episodes, 1988
Rick Guillory	...	Howdy 2 episodes, 1988
Patrick Houser	...	Gun Twirler 2 episodes, 1988
Marie Laurin	...	French Girl 2 episodes, 1988
Eddy Dixon	...	Rock-a-Billy Guy 2 episodes, 1988
Magali Alvarado	...	Beehive Western Gal 2 episodes, 1988
Ann Sophie	...	Beehive Western Gal 2 episodes, 1988
Robyn Sumners	...	Beehive Western Gal 2 episodes, 1988
Kathy Dean	...	Singer 2 episodes, 1988
Leslie Cook	...	Singer 2 episodes, 1988
Manette LaChance	...	Singer 2 episodes, 1988
Kelly ReDusch	...	Dancer 2 episodes, 1988
Michelle Rudy	...	Dancer 2 episodes, 1988
Debra Seitz	...	Dancer 2 episodes, 1988
Dominique Rojas	...	French Girl 2 episodes, 1988
Audrey Tom	...	French Girl 2 episodes, 1988
Amanda Hull	...	French Girl 2 episodes, 1988
Talisa Soto	...	French Girl 2 episodes, 1988
Jackie Old Coyote	...	French Girl 2 episodes, 1988
Ariane Willirch-Teague	...	Beehive Cowgirl 2 episodes, 1988

Storyline

In 1988, the Figaro magazine asked to a few famous directors a series of short movies, to celebrate the 10 years of the revue. The thematic : The French seen by - The movies have been released for the French revolution bicentenary.

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Plot Keywords:

steer | corral | pancake | experimental film | surrealism | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Details

Country:

France USA

Language:

French English

Release Date:

1988 (France)

Also Known As:

The French as Seen by...

Company Credits

Production Co:

Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC),Erato Films,France 2 (FR2)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

13 min 25 min (5 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Edited into The Short Films of David Lynch (2002)

User Reviews

the David Lynch film is his funniest (though still with some strangeness to bear)

I saw the David Lynch short film, the Cowboy and the Frenchman, not with this mini-series, but on a DVD featuring some of his other recent and early short film work. While this wasn't necessarily the most 'Lynchian' of the bunch on the disc (check out the Amputee or Alphabet for that), it happens to contain more laughs per minute than any of Lynch's other films. Often his work contains dark, almost next-to-death like black comedy that almost comes out by accident from the terror and drama that is laid into his surrealism (and, of course as Bunuel has shown, without humor surrealism is quite boring). But this time the surrealism is kept to a low-key as Lynch puts more humor into the blatant, uncomfortable differences between American cowboys and an aloof Frenchman who's stumbled upon the ranch. The cowboys, one of them played by the great Lynch regular Harry Dean Stanton, can't understand a word he says, searches through his luggage to find every piece of 'French' kind of wares around, and are just generally perplexed. Oh, and there's also a Native American to boot, adding a little more un-ease to the situation. It's the kind of comedy that would usually be found in a Jarmusch film, where cultural differences add some humanistic amusement to characters who are trying to relate on common ground. But the minimalism of it helps keep the laughs coming, and then here and there little touches come in to definitely remind us that the director has his stamp on the material (like the singing ladies matted into the sky like in Wild at Heart or Eraserhead). Great art? Maybe not, but it reaches a peak of (light) satire that Lynch has only sometimes reached since.