''La Gueule de l'autre'' is a French comedy film with a satirical look at political values.

Synopsis

The film starts in 1978

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. In the middle of the presidential election, Martial Perrin, president of the "parti centriste des Conservateurs Indépendants Progressistes" (CIP), learns that Richard Krauss, an old mercenary convicted for taking violent action against the

Djibouti Djibouti, officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to the east. The country has an area ...

government when the latter was still a French colony, has escaped from prison. In his trial, he had publicly promised to kill every man who had stood in the way of his

Coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

. Martial Perrin is one of those men. Hours after Krauss' escape, the first murders in his old entourage are announced. Martial Perrin is now so terrified that he acts like a tracked animal: staying away from the windows and sources of light, exiting his home only by back doors, not even wanting to make public speeches. His behavior quickly becomes a standing joke among his fellow politicians and rivals. Therefore, Jean-Louis Constant, his councilor, advises him to be replaced by his cousin and look-alike, Gilbert Brossard, until the Krauss is caught and imprisoned. The latter finds out that not only is his task amusing, but it is also the perfect way to fool the police, population, politicians and even his cousin's wife in bed! A face-to-face meeting is organised with a spokesman of a rival political party, in which Brossard will have to use every last bit of his talent to imitate the great Perrin...whilst being as pathetic as the real one. Will the killer be fooled by this subterfuge? That is the question.

Actors and Characters

Michel Serrault Michel Serrault (24 January 1928 – 29 July 2007) was a French stage and film actor who appeared from 1954 until 2007 in more than 130 films. Life and career His first professional job was in a touring production in Germany of Molière's '' Les ...

: Martial Perrin / Gilbert Brossard * Andréa Parisy : Marie-Hélène Perri *

Jean Poiret Jean Poiret, born Jean Poiré (17 August 1926 – 14 March 1992), was a French actor, director, and screenwriter. He is primarily known as the author of the original play ''La Cage aux Folles (play), La Cage aux Folles''. Early career Poire ...

: Jean-Louis Constant *

Bernadette Lafont Bernadette Lafont (; 28 October 1938 – 25 July 2013) was a French actress who appeared in more than 120 feature films. She has been considered "the face of French New Wave". In 1999 she told ''The New York Times'' her work was "the motor of my e ...

: Gisèle Brossard *

Curd Jürgens Curd Gustav Andreas Gottlieb Franz Jürgens (13 December 191518 June 1982) was a German-Austrian stage and film actor. He was usually billed in English-speaking films as Curt Jurgens. He was well known for playing Ernst Udet in ''Des Teufels Gener ...

: Wilfrid * Roger Carel : Roland Favereau *

Georges Géret Georges Géret (18 October 1924 – 7 April 1996) was a French film actor. He appeared in over 80 films between 1954 and 1992. He was born in Lyon, France. Selected filmography * '' The Unfrocked One'' (1954) - Un militaire à l'Oflag et � ...

: The inspector Javert *Catherine Lachens : Florence *Francis Lax : The inspector Statino * Jacques Legras : Hervé Bidart *Clément Michu : Boireau * Hans Meyer : Richard Krauss *Bernard Lavalette : Monsieur le Comte de Chalosse *Marco Perrin : Raoul Garrivier *François Lalande : Michel Bertheau * Jacqueline Jehanneuf : Emma Sardieu *

Paulette Dubost Paulette Dubost (8 October 1910 – 21 September 2011) was a French actress who began her career at the age of 7 at the Paris Opera. She appeared in over 250 films and worked with directors such as Marcel Carné, Jean Renoir, Max Ophüls ('' L ...

: Mrs. Chalebouis *Robert Destain : Marcel Berthomier *Maurice Travail : Jean-Luc Ferrari *Rose Thiéry : Thérèse *

Michel Blanc Michel Blanc (16 April 1952 – 3 October 2024) was a French actor, writer and director. He is noted for his roles of losers and hypochondriacs. He is frequently associated with Le Splendid, which he co-founded, along with Thierry Lhermitte, ...

: Taboureau *Odile Mallet : Madame de la Tournerie *

Dominique Lavanant Dominique Lavanant (born 24 May 1944) is a 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 adjective ''BCBG'', ' ...

: The abused woman in the hotel room *Pierre Douglas : The Host of "Face à face" *

Dorothée Frédérique Hoschedé (born 14 July 1953), better known by the stage name Dorothée, is a French singer and television presenter. She was a continuity announcer on French public broadcaster Antenne 2 from 1977 to 1983, but she is best known ...

: The announcer *

Lily Fayol Lily Fayol (12 June 1914, Allevard, Isère – 15 May 1999, Saint-Raphaël, Var) was a French singer. The artistic career of Lily Fayol began shortly before World War II. Acquainted with talent manager Johnny Stark she had a series of hits from ...

: Gisèle Brossard's mother *Jacques Deschamps : The TV director's Voice *Germaine Delbat : Madame Perrin * Robert Rollis : The sound engineer *

Pierre Tchernia Pierre Tcherniakowski (29 January 1928 – 8 October 2016), better known as Pierre Tchernia, was a French cinema and television producer, screenwriter, presenter, animator and actor. In France, he was known as ''"Magic" Tchernia'' and ''Monsieur ...

: Narrator *Albert Augier : The principal Inspector *Marcelle Ranson-Hervé : The Minister * Colette Brosset : The tango student *

Patrick Poivre d'Arvor Patrick Poivre d'Arvor (PPDA; né Patrick Jean Marcel Poivre, ; born 20 September 1947) is a French TV journalist and writer. He is a household name in France, and nicknamed "PPDA". With over 30 years and in excess of 4,500 editions of televis ...

: Himself *Stéphane Paoli : Himself *

Gabriel Cattand Gabriel Cattand (29 November 1923 – 9 August 1997) was a French actor. He appeared in 108 films and television shows between 1950 and 1997. He starred in the 1969 film ''Klann – grand guignol'', which was entered into the 20th Berlin Interna ...

*Michel Fortin *Jerry Di Giacomo *Peter Semler *Jean Ory *Claude Legros *Gérard Loussine

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gueule de l'autre, La French comedy films 1970s French-language films 1979 films 1970s French films