La Bonne Année
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''La bonne année'' (also known in the United States as ''Happy New Year'') is a 1973 film directed by
Claude Lelouch Claude Barruck Joseph Lelouch (; born 30 October 1937) is a French film director, writer, cinematographer, actor and producer. Lelouch grew up in an Algerian Jewish family. He emerged as a prominent director in the 1960s. Lelouch gained critical ...
. It tells the story of a gangster who organises a successful heist but is himself caught and jailed. Released early, he not only recoups his share of the takings but also regains his girlfriend. The film is edited to present a
nonlinear narrative Nonlinear narrative, disjointed narrative, or disrupted narrative is a narrative technique where events are portrayed, for example, out of chronological order or in other ways where the narrative does not follow the direct causality pattern of the ...
, with the beginning and ending of the film showing the present-day in black-and-white, and the center of the film showing a flashback of the events in color.


Plot

The gangster Simon and his faithful accomplice Charlot take a holiday in Cannes. Their plan is to rob the
Van Cleef & Arpels Van Cleef & Arpels is a French luxury jewelry company. It was founded in 1896 by the Dutch diamond-cutter Alfred Van Cleef and his father-in-law Salomon Arpels in Paris. Their pieces often feature flowers, animals and fairies. History The ...
jewellery shop on the seafront. Exhaustively, they watch and log the movements of the staff and the security routines. Disguised as a rich old man, Simon gets to know the manager by choosing items for an alleged sick sister. He also gets distracted by Françoise, the beautiful owner of the antiques shop next door. She is on her own and willing to enjoy dates. On the night of the heist, Charlot manages to hide in the shop at closing time and at gunpoint gets the manager to fill an attaché case with all the jewels and cash. He then lets Simon in and heads off with the loot in a speedboat. As Simon ties and gags the manager, the place is surrounded by police because an alarm had been triggered. Françoise visits Simon in jail and promises she will wait for him. After six years, as the police have not found Charlot or any of the loot, they think of a plan. They will get Simon released early and shadow him. He eludes his pursuers and finds Charlot, who gives him his share and drives him to the airport for a plane to Brazil. Waiting for his flight to be called, he rings Françoise. She tells him to come to her apartment immediately, which he does.


Cast

*
Lino Ventura Angiolino Giuseppe Pasquale Ventura (14 July 1919 – 22 October 1987), known as Lino Ventura, was an Italian-born actor and philanthropist, who lived and worked for most of his life in France. He was considered one of the greatest leading men ...
: Simon *
Françoise Fabian Michelle Cortès (born 10 May 1933), known professionally as Françoise Fabian (), is a French film actress. She has appeared in more than 100 films since 1956. In 1971, Fabian signed the Manifesto of the 343 The Manifesto of the 343 Women () ...
: Françoise *
Charles Gérard Charles Gérard (born Gérard Adjémian, 1 December 1922 – 19 September 2019)Charles Gérard
< ...
: Charlot *
André Falcon André Falcon (28 November 1924 – 22 July 2009) was a French film actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films from 1954 to 2008. Filmography References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Falcon, Andre 1924 births 2009 deaths ...
: bijoutier * Lilo De La Passardière: Mme Félix * Claude Mann: Claude * Frédéric de Pasquale: Henri *
Gérard Sire Gérard ( French: ) is a French masculine given name and surname In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a ...
: prison director/voix commentaire TV *
Silvano Tranquilli Silvano Tranquilli (23 August 1925 – 10 May 1997) was an Italian stage, television and film actor. Life and career Born in Rome, Silvano Tranquilli attended theatre lessons at the Sharoff Academy, and started his stage activity with the th ...
: italian lover * Bettina Rheims: Nicole * Georges Staquet: commissaire * Harry Walter: 1st detective * Elie Chouraqui: Michel Barbier (uncredited) * Michel Bertay: taxi driver *
Michou (cabaret artist) Michel Georges Alfred Catty (18 June 1931 – 26 January 2020), known as Michou, was a French singer, drag artist and owner of Chez Michou in Montmartre. He was born in Amiens. A local celebrity, he appeared in a cameo as himself in the 1973 ...
: himself *
Mireille Mathieu Mireille Mathieu (; born July 22, 1946) is a French singer. She has recorded over 1,200 songs in eleven languages, with more than 122 million records sold worldwide. Biography and career Early years Mireille Mathieu was born on July 22, 1946, ...
: herself *
André Barello André — sometimes transliterated as Andre — is the French and Portuguese form of the name Andrew and is now also used in the English-speaking world. It used in France, Quebec, Canada and other French-speaking countries, as well in Portugal, ...
*
Norman de la Chesnaye Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...
*
Pierre Edeline Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...
* Pierre Cottier * Joseph Rythmann * Jacques Villedieu. *
Pierre Pontiche Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...


Financing and production

Much of the film was financed by advertising, particularly for Van Cleef & Arpels.


Awards

* Best actor at the San Remo Film Festival for Lino Ventura and Françoise Fabian * Prix Triomphe du Cinéma 1973


American remake

The film was remade as ''
Happy New Year The Christmas season or the festive season, also known as the holiday season or the holidays, is an annual period generally spanning from November or December to early January. Incorporating Christmas Day and New Year's Day, the various celebrat ...
'' (1987), directed by
John G. Avildsen John Guilbert Avildsen (December 21, 1935 – June 16, 2017) was an American film director. He is best known for directing ''Rocky'' (1976), which earned him the Academy Award for Best Director. He is also renowned for directing the first three f ...
and starring
Peter Falk Peter Michael Falk (September 16, 1927 – June 23, 2011) was an American film and television actor. He is best known for his role as Columbo (character), Lieutenant Columbo on the NBC/American Broadcasting Company, ABC series ''Columbo'' (196 ...
,
Charles Durning Charles Edward Durning (February 28, 1923 – December 24, 2012) was an American actor who appeared in over 200 movies, television shows and plays.Schudel, Matt (December 26, 2012) "''In real life and on the screen, he played countless role ...
and
Tom Courtenay Sir Thomas Daniel Courtenay (; born 25 February 1937) is an English actor. After studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he achieved prominence in the 1960s as part of actors of the British New Wave. Courtenay has received numerous acco ...
.


References


External links

* 1973 films 1970s French-language films 1970s crime comedy-drama films 1970s heist films Films directed by Claude Lelouch Films scored by Francis Lai French crime comedy-drama films French heist films French nonlinear narrative films 1970s French films 1973 comedy-drama films {{1970s-France-film-stub