Les Visiteurs
We rented “Les Visiteurs” this evening, a 1996 French comedy released in 2003 in the US by Mirimax. Wait! don’t run away! This movie was the highest-grossing film ever in France, and for good reason… it’s funny!
The story begins in the year 1123, when a knight and his squire have got themselves into a bit of a pickle after a run-in with an evil witch who slips him a hallucinogen causing him to kill his future father-in-law. They consult a (somewhat senile) wizard, who, in an attempt to send them back in time to head off the mishap, instead sends them almost 900 years into the future. Suffice it to say, they’re not impressed with the modern age and really, really want to go back to their own time.
The squire is a genuine idiot, and a jerk. The knight, while hardly in touch with current political realities (or modern plumbing) is intelligent and noble, and with the help of a distant descendent must find a secret potion that will release everyone from the cultural clash that results from their presence.
Thread A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court backwards through the scatological mind of Monty Python, add French humor (something we Americans have seen too little of), and you’ll have the idea. The only downer was that MrsDoF couldn’t get much crocheting done, because she had to stop and read the subtitles. But we both enjoyed it immensely. (I’ll spare you recounting all the actors I never heard of – you can click the link and read that off the review site.)
I love French humour, but watch too few French films. Thanks for the nudge. Despite the fact that it’s a “chick flick” (not an issue for me), Amelie is delightfully funny in a charming way.