Les bancals

This is one of the rare movies in which talented stage actor Paul Crauchet plays the lead.A bittersweet comedy ,which tragically ends ,Hervé Lièvre's first effort is not very commercial ,but ,although too repetitive and sometimes monotonous,it displays a certain charm ,and we do care for these two pitiful anti-heroes ,who nibble at Petits Beurres Lu (biscuits) in a gloomy hospital, enjoy Blanquette De Veau (veal in white sauce)in a restaurant where they serve this dish every Wednesday or watch a politician talking about a new tax before bursting out laughing (the only surrealist moment in the whole film).

Two lame people, the old one,Antoine, because he stepped on a mine on a beach when he was a boy (prologue),the younger ,Alain,because he is a misfit of sorts , a professional unemployed person ;both live on the fringe of society ,on the grumpy disabled man's pension.

To live together in a seedy house which smells moldy is not so easy.Alain wants to enliven his pal's life ,he wants him to have sex,but Antoine,with the sole company of a canary -whose life will end in the garbage can- ,is resigned to his fate ,blasé, born loser since destiny made him a crippled man;he resents his youth ,his happy-go-lucky attitude;after all,he is nothing but a scrounger,who never seems to be looking for a job.

The resentment having been build for months,friendship (is it really friendship?Or most likely the fear of ending his live alone for one,of becoming totally homeless for the other) turns into hatred . One can regret that the final scene uses the stormy night,complete with thunder,a hackneyed trick.

It was a promising start for Hervé Lièvre ,who has sadly remained an unknown artist to this day.