''The Red Dwarf'' is a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

comedy drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple co ...

directed by Yvan Le Moine released in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

. It is based on ''Le nain rouge'', a story by

Michel Tournier Michel Tournier (; 19 December 1924 − 18 January 2016) was a French writer. He won awards such as the ''Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française'' in 1967 for '' Friday, or, The Other Island'' and the Prix Goncourt for '' The Erl-King'' i ...

Synopsis

Lucien L'Hotte, a

dwarf Dwarf or dwarves may refer to: Common uses *Dwarf (folklore), a being from Germanic mythology and folklore * Dwarf, a person or animal with dwarfism Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Dwarf (''Dungeons & Dragons''), a humanoid ...

becomes enamoured and begins an affair with the singer Paola Bendoni. Lucien excuses himself from her company and, in a dramatic scene, indulges in her luxurious bathtub and emerges and boldly pursues an affair with the singer, who is in the midst of divorce. After some time her problems with her husband subside and the two make amends, and Lucien is driven mad, proclaiming, "If you do not love me, I love you. And if I love you beware". Lucien then contrives her murder and frames her husband successfully, and disappears shortly after to live as a

carnie Carny, also spelled carnie, is an informal term used in North America for a traveling carnival employee, and the language they use, particularly when the employee operates a game ("joint"), food stand ("grab", "popper" or "floss wagon"), or ride ...

. There he falls in platonic love with the carnival director's pre-pubescent daughter which arouses the suspicion of paedophilic motivations by the director, who forbids his daughter to see or perform with L'Hotte. On the verge of being ostracised from the carnival, L'Hotte creates a show of his own that becomes wildly popular—and in the process profitable to the director. L'Hotte then stages a homosexual relationship with his partner in his carnival act to settle suspicions of unwanted interest in the young girl.

References

External links

* 1998 films 1998 comedy-drama films Belgian black-and-white films French comedy-drama films 1990s French-language films 1990s Italian-language films Belgian comedy-drama films 1990s French films {{Belgium-film-stub