Voyou

I do not go much for Lelouch's stuff ,which is to the French cinema what Mac Donald is to gastronomy.But,and this is crucial,there are exceptions."La Vie,L'Amour ,La Mort" which was a semi-flop ,was a sincere plea against death penalty;and there are two delicious comedies:one of them is "La Belle Année" (1974) ,and the other is this film .

It's about a child's abduction but things are not what they seem,and at a time when unexpected twists have become de rigueur ,I think one could remake "le voyou".The film takes also at a slap at the commercials and the "Thank you,Simca ( cars)" scene is worth the price of admission.Also features Sacha Distel at the Olympia ,the famous Paris music hall: he sings "Toute La PLuie Tombe Sur Moi" ;a French cover of "raindrops keep fallin' on my head".Good cast with a dynamic Jean-Louis Trintignant,who starred in Lelouch's Cannes Palme d'Or 1966 "Un Homme et Une Femme" ,and Charles Denner.

Anachronisms: the kidnapping was supposed to happen in 1965;but "raindrops keep fallin' on my head " was a 1970 song,so Distel could not sing a cover in 1965.Ditto for the "Un homme et Une Femme" (1966) private joke!

Unusual and entertaining, if not fun crime flick with the Lelouch touch, but here, strangely, it works. Not brutal nor gloomy. The kidnapping scheme where everyone is winner, bank and criminals, is absolutely incredible !! You'll find here the charm of the early seventies where Lelouch hired his usual bunch: Charles Gerard, Jean Louis Trintignant, Aldo Maccionne and I guess some more. Lelouch is not usually my stuff, my cup of tea, especially for two hours features, but here, I repeat, it's OK. Don't look for many moral nor ethics here, but that's the Lelouch's touch.

This is a brilliant, charming film. To the poster wanting "Merci Simca" to become a common well-known phrase- I totally agree. This movie has it all- wit, charm, great acting, clever script, great use of flashbacks, inventive crimes, great car chase thru the 70's streets of Paris- an almost perfect film. This movie is easily the equal of other classic French crime films of the time- it's a shame it is so little known. You may be thrown a bit (as was I) when characters are doing things out of character, not realizing it's a flashback, but that only adds to the experience- I'd rather be confused for a few minutes than have some obvious corny announcement that a flashback is coming, like squiggly dream lines appearing on screen. I had heard nothing of this film and had no expectations, and was blown away. This film was 25 years ahead of its time, it's kind of a forerunner to comedy/crime films such as Pulp Fiction, True Lies, Go, etc., but superior to all those.

This is a film that I remember fondly from the 70s. A great caper movie with several twists and turns. Betrayal and counter betrayal and a conclusion that makes you laugh out loud! Usually a serious actor in political or psychological films - Jean Louis T. tries some lighter than air 'hey-presto' and proves that he can do comedy as well. I wish more people would know this film so that the satirical line "Merci, Simca" would be a household word - to diffuse Regis' line "Is that your final answer".

Of the several themes the film explores, none is more relevant than the theme of the popularization of greed. A 'kidnapage' is effectively carried out during a televised game show, whilst the parents are instructed to repeat the sponsors name, hence they repeat "Merci, Simca", the name of the car they hope to win.

A man escapes from prison and seeks the loot he had stashed away five years earlier. The middling narrative moves in fits and starts, with scenes unfolding at a leisurely pace. In particular, there's an elaborate kidnapping scene that plays out in such minute detail that it loses all momentum. The presentation is rather confusing. In fact, the flashback to the events of five years earlier is so clumsily handled that it takes a while for it to become clear that earlier events are being recounted. It opens with an extended prologue, a movie within the movie, that overstays its welcome. The same could be said of the film, which runs out of steam long before the end.