''Cookies'' (french: Les Galettes de Pont-Aven, "The

Galette Galette (from the Norman word ''gale'', meaning "flat cake") is a term used in French cuisine to designate various types of flat round or freeform crusty cakes, or, in the case of a Breton galette (french: Galette bretonne ; br, Krampouezhenn gw ...

s of

Pont-Aven Pont-Aven (, Breton: 'River Bridge') is a commune in the Finistère department in the Brittany region in Northwestern France. In 2019, it had a population of 2,821. Demographics Inhabitants of Pont-Aven are called ''Pontavenistes'' in French. ...

") is a

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 ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by Joël Séria.

Plot

Henri Serin (Jean-Pierre Marielle) is a middle-aged travelling umbrella salesman from

Saumur Saumur () is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France. The town is located between the Loire and Thouet rivers, and is surrounded by the vineyards of Saumur itself, Chinon, Bourgueil, Coteaux du Layon, etc.. Saumur statio ...

who lives a sexless and unhappy married life with his puritan wife (Gisèle Grimm) and two children. Painting is the only true passion of Henri but he also has an affection for female buttocks. One night, on the roads of

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...

he hits a boar with his car. Émile (Bernard Fresson), a rude and carefree painter who lives in a cottage near Riec-sur-Belon meets Henri and invites him to stay at his house while the car is being fixed. Henri falls in love with Émile's Canadian live-in girlfriend Angela (Dolores McDonough) who draws Henri's attention with her beautiful buttocks. Henri and Angela leave Émile after a violent confrontation and move to Pont-Aven, 'the city of painters'. Angela encourages Henri to continue his life as a painter and he sees this as an opportunity to leave his earlier life behind. However, one day Angela suddenly leaves him and disappears, and Henri becomes a drunkard, butt of jokes in the town, and a painter unable to sell a single painting. Marie (Jeanne Goupil), the teenage maid working at the

pension A pension (, from Latin ''pensiō'', "payment") is a fund into which a sum of money is added during an employee's employment years and from which payments are drawn to support the person's retirement from work in the form of periodic payments ...

Henri stays, is apparently in love with him but he seems to neglect her because his mind is too occupied with Angela. However, at a kermesse where the two sing ''Kenavo'' by

Théodore Botrel Jean-Baptiste-Théodore-Marie Botrel (14 September 1868 – 28 July 1925) was a French singer-songwriter, poet and playwright. He is best known for his popular songs about his native Brittany, of which the most famous is ''La Paimpolaise''. Durin ...

, Henri faces his true feelings for Marie. He finds pure love and a pair of beautiful buttocks in her and decides to make a new start in his life. Eventually, Henri and Marie begin to live together and are seen happily selling galettes and toffee apples on a

Névez Névez (; ) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France. ''Nevez'' means "new" in Breton. The name is thought to have arisen when Trégunc was split in two, creating a new parish. Population Inhabitants of Né ...

beach.

Cast

Jean-Pierre Marielle Jean-Pierre Marielle (12 April 1932 – 24 April 2019) was a French actor. He appeared in more than a hundred films in which he played very diverse roles, from a banal citizen ('' Les Galettes de Pont-Aven''), to a World War II hero (''Les Milles ...

as Henri Serin *

Claude Piéplu Claude Léon Auguste Piéplu (9 May 1923, Paris–24 May 2006, Paris) was a French theater, film and television actor. He was known for his hoarse and frayed voice. Selected filmography *''D'homme à hommes'' (1948) - (uncredited) *''Le Ro ...

as Monsieur Loyan, the pilgrim * Romain Bouteille as the monk * Jeanne Goupil as Marie Guédèc * Dolores McDonough as Angela *

Andréa Ferréol Andréa Ferréol (born Andrée Louise Ferréol; January 6, 1947) is a French actress and officer of the Ordre national du Mérite (2009). Her debut was in the 1973 film ''La Grande bouffe'', which made a big scandal at the Cannes Film Festival. ...

as Madame Liquois *

Bernard Fresson Bernard Fresson (27 May 1931 – 20 October 2002) was a French actor who primarily worked in film. Born in Reims, France, to a French baker, Fresson attended the Lycée privé Sainte-Geneviève, majoring in law. He studied in Tania Balachova's ...

as Émile * Martine Ferrière as the pilgrim's sister * Gisèle Grimm as Madame Serin *

Dominique Lavanant Dominique Lavanant (born 24 May 1944) is a César Award-winning French film and theatrical actress. She is known for her comedy skills especially with posh and distinguished characters like Rosalind Russell's; characters often defined by the ad ...

as Marie Pape * Nathalie Drivet as Ida * Agnès Van Waerbeke as the naked girl

Accolades

References

External links

* 1975 drama films 1975 films 1970s French-language films French drama films Films about fictional painters 1970s French films {{1970s-France-film-stub