Filmed in eight days , with the inhabitants of Toulon used as extras (they can sue the production if they do not agree) ,"smic smac smoc" is Claude Lelouch's smallest budget :no big star , an amateurish directing , often impromptu performances ; and to top it all ,spoken cast and credits a la Sacha Guitry.
"Smic Smac Smoc " is a pleasant movie, if only for its spontaneity ,its sense of camaraderie , its total absence of pretension and its joie de vivre .The actors have talent and intellect going for them ,particularly Morrocan-born Amidou ,one of the director's favorites (his best part was Lelouch 's "la vie ,l'amour ,la mort' ,a strong plea against death penalty).
The social /political side of the movie should not be taken seriously : Lelouch has always been a right-winger ,but to precise a rightist anarchist , who sometimes called the establishment into question , like his three heroes, who often recall the characters of a comic strip "les Pieds Nickelés" .
The first part of the movie drags on a bit,but from the wedding onwards ,it becomes endearing and enjoyable : the wedding (no dress, no walk along the aisle) , the incident at the gas station where the naive owner tells his "customers" that the police never catch the thieves ; then the trip to Saint-Tropez ,capital of the rich , where they perform in the street (pretending they are blind) to make some dough to be able to have dinner in a luxury restaurant : this scene alone is worth the price of admission : the menu, the necessity to be an even number of guests , the bill (it's my whole monthly salary!),and the small change they use in a place where people take out big banknotes .
As always,Lelouch contemplates his navel ,and the accordionist plays themes of his former movies ("Vivre pour vivre" and of course " un homme et une femme",) but it's Lelouch 's trademark:take it or leave it.
As for the ending , if you do not agree with it,you can write him a letter !
