''Max My Love'' is a 1986

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

Nagisa Ōshima was a Japanese filmmaker, writer, and left-wing activist who is best known for his fiction films, of which he directed 23 features in a career spanning from 1959 to 1999. He is regarded as one of the greatest Japanese directors of all time, and ...

, starring

Charlotte Rampling Tessa Charlotte Rampling (born 5 February 1946) is an English actress. An icon of the Swinging London, Swinging Sixties, she began her career as a model. She was cast in the role of Meredith in the 1966 film ''Georgy Girl'', which starred Lynn ...

, Anthony Higgins, Victoria Abril, Pierre Étaix and Milena Vukotic. The screenplay was written by Ōshima and

Jean-Claude Carrière Jean-Claude Carrière (; 17 September 1931 – 8 February 2021) was a French novelist, screenwriter and actor. He received an Academy Award for best short film for co-writing '' Heureux Anniversaire'' (1963), and was later conferred an Honorar ...

, and the film was produced by Serge Silberman.

Plot

Peter Jones a British

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

in France, suspects his wife Margaret of having an affair. He hires a private detective, who reports that Margaret has rented an apartment. It then turns out that her live-in lover is a pet

chimpanzee The chimpanzee (; ''Pan troglodytes''), also simply known as the chimp, is a species of Hominidae, great ape native to the forests and savannahs of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed one. When its close rel ...

she calls Max.

Cast

as Margaret Jones * Anthony Higgins as Peter Jones * Victoria Abril as Maria * Anne-Marie Besse as Suzanne *

Nicole Calfan Nicole Calfan (born 4 March 1947) is a French actress and author. She was married to François Valéry and Michael Calfan is their son. Filmography Theater Author References External links * 1947 births Living people Actress ...

as Hélène * Pierre Étaix as Le détective / detective * Bernard Haller as Robert * Sabine Haudepin as Françoise, la prostituée * Christopher Hovik as Nelson Jones *

Fabrice Luchini Fabrice Luchini (; born Robert Luchini; 1 November 1951) is a French stage and film actor. He has appeared in films such as '' Potiche'', '' The Women on the 6th Floor'', and '' In the House''. Life and career Fabrice Luchini was born in Paris, ...

as Nicolas * Diana Quick as Camille * Milena Vukotic as Margaret's mother * Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu as Archibald (as Bernard Pierre Donnadieu) * Ailsa Berk as Max (uncredited)

Production

Co-writer Carrière, producer Silberman and actor Vukotic were all frequent collaborators with

Luis Buñuel Luis Buñuel Portolés (; 22 February 1900 – 29 July 1983) was a Spanish and Mexican filmmaker who worked in France, Mexico and Spain. He has been widely considered by many film critics, historians and directors to be one of the greatest and ...

, and the film resembles his work in its understated, unsensational treatment of frequently outrageous events.

Release

The film was entered into the 1986 Cannes Film Festival.

References

External links

* * * 1986 films Films about apes Films directed by Nagisa Ōshima 1980s French-language films French satirical films French independent films Japanese satirical films Zoophilia in culture Films produced by Serge Silberman Films with screenplays by Jean-Claude Carrière English-language French films 1980s French films 1980s Japanese films Films scored by Michel Portal {{1980s-France-film-stub