4.7? Come on!
This is not one of those heavy-handed comedies ;not one of those feel good flicks which pullulate on the contemporary French scene either .And there was a time when they used French (and Polish ,of course) songs in French movies,instead of the obligatory English or American ones....
Like his first effort "Les Héros N'Ont Pas Froid Aux Oreilles ",Charles Nemes's sophomore effort is a gentle work which leaves a bitter taste in the mouth ;whilst his "Héros" was thoroughly mastered ,this one contains scenes that should not have been edited : the commercial adverts -Paul should have been given a less trendy job in the eighties,and Gerard Jugnot's character gets in the way :his sex scene is the only rude moment in what is essentially a romantic movie.
Paul is a playboy: a former girlfriend asks him to marry Zosia ,a Polish girl ,opponent of the regime of her country (it's 1981,December would see the state of siege in Poland and the arrest of many opponents)
Paul hesitates but they told him so: it will be an unconsummated marriage and they will divorce shortly after.Against all odds,Paul ,who is a happy-go-lucky guy,who does not care about politics,flies to Warsaw :Zosia is a gorgeous blonde, and during their honeymoon, he falls in love with her.
But it's not that easy ;back in Paris, Zosia is still a political activist whose friends
look upon Paul as an intruder ;and if Paul is in love, Zosia is not so sure and wants to fly to the USA: why by the way?she's almost fluent in French ,whereas she does not speak American at all (at the time,English was not taught in the communist countries)
Thierry Lhermitte and Barbara Nielsen are excellent as a romantic pair ;it's only partially a comedy;and the screenwriters do not choose the easy way: the ending is downright dramatic.
Both "Les héros" and "La fiancée " are neglected films, which should be restored to favor
