User reviews

Jean-Paul Le Chanois ,as anyone French cine buff past infancy should know,was the main Bête Noire of the New Wavelet;their simplistic put down overlooked his good movies,and the good ones are worthy of of investigation:if one can forget his failed " Les Misérables" and his sixties mediocre stuff,it is to his neglected worthwhile works that any fair review must address itself: "Messieurs Ludovic" ,"Sans Laisser D'Adresse" "Agence Matrimoniale""les évadés" ,even "le cas du docteur laurent" and his marvelous "Ecole Buissonnière" ,an effort every teacher of the world should see.;

In the sixties,though , this gardener is a minor but endearing final effort ;for Le Chanois was about to call it a day though he had still twenty years to live . Lovely filmed ,with sparkling colors, it depicts a place where time stood still : a suburb of Paris, with its gardens where Monsieur Tulipe grows flowers ,its cafés and its quietness,soon to be disturbed by the arrival of appartment buildings ;and a cinema which stood still too, deaf to the Nouvelle Vague's so called innovations -which often weren't :filming on location was used as soon as the silent age .

Monsieur Tulipe leads a peaceful life till the government claims arrears on his taxes .He does not work in a honest way : although he is a talented painter,it's a cover for shady business;" I've been in that business since I was born,says he,false good marks at school ,false furloughs in the army ,false papers during WW2-you can't blame me at all for that- and now forged banknotes" .

And then begins a very funny comedy ,devoid of vulgarity -as the "films guide "claims - : you should see the gardener ,on the First of May , buying a lily of the valley sprig to get some "honest " change ;or his godson's fiancé paying a fine to the gendarmes with a big forged banknote ;this banknote will pass from hand to hand .There's the rub: the smart fiancé urges her future husband to egg on his godfather to expand this lucrative business.

I would tone it down for Curd Jurgens' interventions: the "happening" on this playboy's luxury yatch displays a desire to be groovy ,trendy and the casino is a hackneyed trick.These scenes get in the way .But do not miss singer-songwriter extraordinaire Serge Gainsbourg -who also wrote the (indifferent) score- cast as a hip photographer.

But the ending ,as a precedent user has already pointed it out, makes up for it ; forget the highbrows, and do not deny yourself a good moment of fun.Grumpy Gabin is true to form and Liselotte Pulver is up to scratch.

This film is absolutely adorable. Jean Gabin plays a retired race track gambler (Tulipe) who spends his time in his hobby garden. When he is approached by some relatives to "lauder" counterfeit Francs, he reluctantly develops a grandiose scheme to exchange the "blossoms" into real cash at the tracks. The End (which I won't spill here), is so hilarious as it is sad. Lilo Pulver's role is absolutely brilliant, as is Curd Jügens'. A film without violence for the whole family.

Jean Gabin is cast as a very even-tempered character so once the premise is properly exposed (it already takes more than 20min.) there is not much to expect from him. Then the story plods along like they are just shooting some TV newsreel... and conversely a newsreel would be fiercely edited to be concise to a fault.

The supporting cast is mostly OK, great thespians are wasted here: a gang of old timers, Curd Jürgens... Noël Roquevert gets a bit part where color actually diminishes his usual colorful characterization. Serge Gainsbourg's score is non-descript and he kinda fumbles an easy part, always seeming to awkwardly look for his mark (that tells an awful lot about JP Le Chanois's directing engagement); Lilly Pulver is too old for the part and quite frankly just roaming through it (Le Chanois, again; fortunately he stopped making movies after this one).

This is so devoid of momentum, so lacking in energy it eventually looks like a vaudeville desperately trying to catch your attention by continually moving to a different set. Really a sore pain to watch till the end.

Jean Gabin was for me the greatest French actor who had ever lived. He gave us so much pleasure, in so many gems, treasure movies, no matter the stories...This film offers us another unlikely character, as the one he had in LE BARON DE L'ECLUSE, LE DRAPEAU NOIR FLOTTE SUR LA MARMITE, UN SINGE EN HIVER, ARCHIMEDE LE CLOCHARD, LE TATOUE, LE GENTLEMAN D'EPSOM.. So French...If you are not French, you may not appreciate, I can understand that. And all those films are not always exxciting, just enjoying, mostly because of the dialogues. The story here is certainly not a masterpiece, not at all, but it's fun for the nostalgia goers of this period. And Jean Gabin will always remain the best French actor who ever lived. Forty years after his death, I still miss him.