''Bonsoir'' is a 1994
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
film directed by
Jean-Pierre Mocky.
Plot
Having first lost his wife, then his job as a tweed tailor, Alex Ponttin (
Michel Serrault) has devised a novel way to keep himself in touch with society. He admits himself into people's homes by pretending to be a relative or an official and persuading his victims to give him a night's free board. He finds at first a lunch with the horrible couple Dumont (Jean-Pierre Bisson and Maike Jansen), where a thief follows him for a robbery. Alex spent an evening in front of TV at Marie (
Marie-Christine Barrault), mother of seven children. He runs from Marie to find an evening and a new bed at the home of charming but shy lesbian Caroline (
Claude Jade) and her funny lover Gloria (
Corinne Le Poulain
Corinne Le Poulain ( – ) was a List of French actors, French actress. Niece of actor Jean Le Poulain, she seduced Jean Marais on-screen in the film ''La Provocation'' (1969). She was famous as Sally in TV-series ''Sam & Sally''. She was a great ...
).
To save her inheritance, Caroline - accused for her homosexuality by her horrible sister Catherine (Laurence Vincendon) - tells her aunt Amélie (Monique Darpy) that Gloria is her secretary and Alex her lover. Alex has to present himself nude in Caroline's bed. He saves Caroline's inheritance.
The police officers (
Jean-Claude Dreyfus
Jean-Claude Dreyfus (born 18 February 1946, in Paris) is a French actor, comedian, and author.
He began his career in film acting in 1973 in the film ''Comment réussir quand on est con et pleurnichard''. Dreyfus is notable for his portrayal ...
) investigating the case are so terminally stupid that Alex has little chance of being arrested.
As in many of
Jean-Pierre Mocky's films, there is a strong anti-establishment, almost anarchist subtext. This is manifested in the way that the self-proclaimed moral figures (the police, the clergy, even the President of the Republic) are presented in this film, but also in the elevation of Alex Ponttin to the status of a public hero at the end of the film. Whilst society and state sink into a numbing inertia, bereft of integrity and humanity, it is left to the eccentrics, the outsiders like worried Caroline, who is attacked by her sister and her aunt because the secret of her
homosexuality, to build a more cohesive society and a better world.
Michel Serrault excels in this off-the-wall satirical comedy which makes a bizarre assessment of modern life. He plays an impish vagrant who uses his new-found freedom to improve the lives of his fellow man, by briefly insinuating himself into their lives. Bonsoir goes much further and suggests that whole of modern society, not only the police, is culpable of mediocrity and moral laxity. It takes an outsider like Alex Ponttin, free from the bonds of modern living, to point the way to a better future.
Cast
*
Michel Serrault as Alex Ponttin
*
Claude Jade as Caroline Winberg
*
Marie-Christine Barrault as Marie
*
Corinne Le Poulain
Corinne Le Poulain ( – ) was a List of French actors, French actress. Niece of actor Jean Le Poulain, she seduced Jean Marais on-screen in the film ''La Provocation'' (1969). She was famous as Sally in TV-series ''Sam & Sally''. She was a great ...
as Gloria
*
Jean-Claude Dreyfus
Jean-Claude Dreyfus (born 18 February 1946, in Paris) is a French actor, comedian, and author.
He began his career in film acting in 1973 in the film ''Comment réussir quand on est con et pleurnichard''. Dreyfus is notable for his portrayal ...
as Bruneau
*
Jean-Pierre Bisson
Jean-Pierre or Jean Pierre may refer to:
People
* Karine Jean-Pierre b.1977, White House Deputy Press Secretary for President Joe Biden 2021-
* Jean-Pierre, Count of Montalivet (1766–1823), French statesman and Peer of France
* Eugenia Pierre ( ...
as Marcel Dumont
*
Maike Jansen Maike is a given name. Notable people with the given name include:
*Maike Arlt (born 1963), German volleyball player
*Maike Becker (born 1962), German handball player
* Maike Evers (born 1980), Australian real estate professional and television per ...
as Yvonne Dumont
*Laura Grandt as Greta
*
Catherine Mouchet
Catherine Mouchet (born 21 August 1959) is a French actress.
She studied at the Conservatoire de Paris, following the courses of Jacques Lassalle and Claude Régy. Her performance in the film '' Thérèse'', directed by Alain Cavalier, won her ...
as Eugénie
*
Serge Riaboukine as Father Bonfils
*
Laurence Vincendon
Laurence is an English and French given name (usually female in French and usually male in English). The English masculine name is a variant of Lawrence and it originates from a French form of the Latin ''Laurentius'', a name meaning "man from La ...
as Caroline's sister
*
Monique Darpy
Monique is a female given name. It is the French form of the name Monica. The name has enjoyed some popularity in the United States since about 1955, and is less common in other English-speaking countries except for Canada although mostly used ...
as Caroline's aunt
*
Dominique Zardi as Caroline's neighbour
See also
*
Cinema of France
French cinema consists of the film industry and its film productions, whether made within the nation of France or by French film production companies abroad. It is the oldest and largest precursor of national cinemas in Europe; with primary infl ...
*
List of French language films
References
External links
*
* {{Amg movie, 163943, Bonsoir
Bonsoir at DVDtoile
1994 films
French LGBT-related films
Lesbian-related films
1990s French-language films
1994 LGBT-related films
Films directed by Jean-Pierre Mocky
1990s French films