Bonne chance!

"Bonne chance" is Sacha Guitry' second long feature, and it's a wonderful love story with his wife Jacqueline Delubac and her famous smile. Guitry is again inventive in his trip with his "sister", a young neighbor he dreams to marry. They both share a million won with a lucky ticket, and Guitry seduces her with many generous adorable gifts she cannot resist. It's so charming to see how money can help happiness in Guitry's writing. I love this poetic tale from beginning to end, with a special appreciation of Delubac-Guitry's energic dance, I don't remember having ever seen Guitry dancing.

Sacha Guitry had made his first movie in 1915 ,then dedicated himself to stage only ,as a writer,director and director.It was 1935 before he made another movie "Pasteur" and this one released the same year.

A collaboration with Fernand Rivers (who also worked with Gance),"Bonne Chance" displays Guitry's touch,particularly in the beginning with this humor verging on absurd in the scenes of the pose and the hairdresser.Puns,jokes and even reductio ad absurdum that what is immoral is moral and vice versa.Good lines such as "He's your brother? but he doesn't resemble you" "We don't have the same father!" "Ah!I see.."And not the same mother either!"

A girl (Jacqueline Delubac,Guitry's then-wife) who got engaged to a boy who is leaving for military training (thirteen days) wins two million on the raffle ,thanks to an older man (Guitry)who she calls her good luck charm (hence the title:good luck!).While the fiancé is away ,he takes her to a honeymoon before the wedding ,spending a lot of money on caviar,Renoir paintings,castles and other trivia.

Like this?try these....

"Le Million" René Clair 1931 "Antoine Et Antoinette" Jacques Becker 1947

I was fortunate enough to catch this movie a number of years ago in a film festival, and absolutely loved it! The characters were wonderfully written, as was the dialog (though I'm sure that I missed a lot of the word-play as the movie was subtitled and I, unfortunately do not speak French). It is a far more intelligent film than it's American re-make (Lucky Partners).

It is a shame that this film isn't more readily available in the States, as I would love to see it again.