At the time ,and in spite of May 68 spirit,the very subject of the movie was deemed scandalous by well meaning people although it was not new.And I won't even call to FRançois TRuffault for help cause Ernst Lubitsch's "Design for living"(1933) was already a Ménage à Trois story .And in France,Alain Delon had already produced "Madly" (1970) which people called "immoral" .
"Charlie Et Ses Deux Nenettes" is a much better attempt than Delon's chic dud.First it takes place in a popular milieu,which was (still is) rare in the seventies -in direct contrast to the masterpieces of the thirties - when the bourgeois psychological drama à la Sautet -I'd rather have "Charlie" than "Cesar and Rosalie" anytime - was trendy.
Charlie and the girls are on the dole.Charlie has a van and they go from town to town,selling oilcloth in the market places..it won't be long before the three of them sleep together.But they meet Tony a lady killer who sells miniature cathedrals and who owns a comfortable trailer....
"Charlie..." is a good movie,if only for its spontaneity and its good humor.
This was Joel Seria's second effort.His first one,"Mais Ne Nous Delivrez Pas Du Mal " has a nefarious reputation:quite rightly so,for it was like a bolt from the blue in 1972 ;try too see it at any cost. "Les Galettes de Pont-Aven" and "Marie -Poupée" also deserve a watch ,but it's downhill afterward.
