''Door on the Left as You Leave the Elevator'' (french: À gauche en sortant de l'ascenseur) is a 1988 French comedy written by

Gérard Lauzier Gérard Lauzier (30 November 1932 – 6 December 2008) was a French comics author and movie director, best known as one of the leading authors in the more adult-oriented French comics scene of the 1970s and 1980s. Biography Gérard Lauzier was bo ...

(based on his play), directed by

Édouard Molinaro Édouard Molinaro (13 May 1928 – 7 December 2013) was a French film director and screenwriter. Biography He was born in Bordeaux, Gironde. He is best known for his comedies with Louis de Funès (''Oscar'', ''Hibernatus''), '' My Uncle Benja ...

, and starring

Pierre Richard Pierre Richard (born Pierre-Richard Maurice Charles Léopold Defays; 16 August 1934) is a French actor, film director and screenwriter, best known for the roles of a clumsy daydreamer in comedy films. Pierre Richard is considered by many, such as ...

Emmanuelle Béart Emmanuelle Béart (born 14 August 1963)
''Tecinema.jeuxactu.com''. Retrieved 21 April 2020. is a F ...

, and

Richard Bohringer Richard Bohringer (born 16 January 1942) is a French actor. Personal life Bohringer was born in Moulins, Allier, to a French mother and a German father. He is the father of actress Romane Bohringer, and has three other children, Mathieu, Richa ...

Plot

The plot is based around a successful, yet very shy painter Yann (Pierre Richard) who is in love with a married woman Florence (

Fanny Cottençon Fanny Cottençon (born 11 May 1957) is a French actress and film producer, born in Port-Gentil, Gabon (then in French Equatorial Africa). In 1983 she won the César Award for Best Supporting Actress for her effort in the movie ''L'Étoile du Nord ...

). When he finally manages to have a date with her in his apartment, he has to face big problems. His neighbour Boris, another painter (and an artist maudit) who is extremely insecure and possessive towards his young wife Éva, leaves his flat without his suitcase, and when Éva, dressed only in

lingerie Lingerie (, , ) is a category of primarily women's clothing including undergarments (mainly brassieres), sleepwear, and lightweight robes. The choice of the word is often motivated by an intention to imply that the garments are alluring, fashio ...

, runs out of the door to let him know, a draft of air closes her door and she has to ask Yann for help. Unfortunately, that is just the moment when both Boris and Florence turn up. The story gets even more complicated as Florence's husband also comes to Yann's flat, and when Yann, when joking, mistakes a toy gun for a real one, and lightly injures Boris. But eventually all comes to a happy end.

Cast

: Yann Ducoudray *

Emmanuelle Béart Emmanuelle Béart (born 14 August 1963)
''Tecinema.jeuxactu.com''. Retrieved 21 April 2020. is a F ...

: Eva *

: Boris *

: Florence Arnaud *

Pierre Vernier Pierre Vernier (19 August 1580 at Ornans, Franche-Comté (at that time ruled by the Spanish Habsburgs, now part of France) – 14 September 1637, same location) was a French mathematician and instrument-inventor. He was the inventor and epony ...

: Paul Arnaud *

Jean-Michel Dupuis Jean-Michel Dupuis (born in 1955) is a French theatre, TV and film actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern m ...

: Jean-Yves *

Michel Creton Michel Creton (17 August 1942 in Wassy, Haute-Marne, France) is a French actor. He came to international attention with the release of ''Un homme de trop'' (''Shock Troops'') by Costa Gavras in 1967. Since then, he played in many films, appeared ...

: first policeman *

Éric Blanc Éric Degbegni, better known as Éric Blanc (born October 13, 1965 in Cotonou, Benin), is a French Impressionist and comedian. His father was a professional magistrate and his mother was a pediatric nurse. He lived in Cotonou until 1975, whe ...

: second policeman *

: man by the elevator

External links

*
Gallery of stills
1980s French-language films Films directed by Édouard Molinaro 1988 comedy films 1988 films French comedy films Films set in Paris French films based on plays Films produced by Claude Berri 1980s French films {{1980s-comedy-film-stub