Un drôle de paroissien

A very pleasant portrait of a fading aristocracy: George has found how to get money pilfering the collection boxes in the churches: of course the churches and the police notice that and begin to investigate. So George improves his pilfering techniques and till now has always escaped from an arrest.

One of the best performances of Bourvil. Also good performances of Francis Blanche, Jean Poiret, Jean Yonnel, Jean Tissier, Véronique Nordey and Marcel Pérès.

When your family principle is that you shouldn't work (because you belong to the aristocracy), what to do when you just sold your last chair to collect money? Georges must find a way to support his family even if it means stealing in churches. An interesting race begins between the two parties (Georges and the church agents) as they have to adapt to the improvements on the other side.

A delightful little comedy, carefully crafted, really not one second wasted seeing it. The comedy begins lighthearted, friendly, slightly bizarre, and remains so until the end. It has some surprises, one in particular.

What I really enjoyed was the lovely acting of Jean Poirot as Raoul, the dentist who at first is reluctant to help Georges out, but becomes his assistant later on all too willingly. He seems to see it as a fun practice besides his real job. A talented actor, who would be used quite regularly by director Jean-Pierre Mocky.

Bourvil is excellent as well, as the gentle thief. It is a great part for him as he was an actor who could play both hilariously funny as well this kind of sophisticated funny. Georges is probably one of the friendliest thieves ever to appear in cinema. It's also refreshing seeing (a lot of) churches being used in cinema.

This was only Mocky's fourth feature film, while he is still productive, and recently finished his 73rd and 74th title! I read that he has 17 children, which might explain the theme of the families in this film (the church agents are one, his own family, and even friends become family in the end). Excellent stuff. I rate this 7/10.

French director Jean-Pierre Mocky is famous for his poignant yet subtle attacks on church and established religion.What makes his films interesting is the fact that they always have a lot of comedy in them.The same trend is visible in "Un Drôle De Paroissien" which shows how some churches in Paris have become a source of income for people who do not want to work ? One can simply marvel at some bold church thieves and their ingenuous pilfering techniques. The film is highly original as before Monsieur Mocky nobody had thought of showing bad days of French aristocracy.Great French comedian Bourvil is remarkable as a member of an aristocratic family who feels that working like commoners would diminish their status.The portrayal of incompetent policemen also helps to add comical touches to the film.In a world where everybody wants to work no matter how good or bad the job might be,this film by Jean-Pierre Mocky is a good example for knowing more about people who don't want to work. Lastly,this black comedy should not be missed by anybody who is interested in watching an issue based comedy film.