A bumbling intellectual talks revolution until revolution actually talks back.
Alain Cluny is Balthazar, a bumbling middle-aged intellectual who spouts off from time to time about leftist causes, usually to his current girlfriend. Then Edwarda (Bernadette Lafont), who is active in the political underground, comes into his life. From that point on, he begins to act on his beliefs. Edwarda's underground political action group stages a little drama to test Balthazar's commitment and reliability, putting him through an interrogation by what appear to him to be French secret police. Having passed this test, he is given a real assignment. This film is a comedy with elements of satire, and it explores the humor to be found in left-wing pretentiousness of all kinds. - Rovi
Acting
Alain Cuny's magnificent commitment to bumbling dignity.
Writing
Sharp satirical jabs at revolutionary cosplay.
Direction
Aubier's playful tension between farce and genuine tension.
Director
Pascal Aubier
Alain Cuny
Balthazar Lamarck-Caulaincourt
Bernadette Lafont
Edwarda
László Szabó
Lazlo
Albane Navizet
Lara
Alexandra Stewart
La paysanne
Rufus
Un méchant
Clément Harari
Un très méchant
Hans Meyer
Helmut
Yves Afonso
Anatole
Marthe Mercadier
La maîtresse de maison
Yves Vincent
Le maître de maison
Jean-Claude Rémoleux
Antoine
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Released during Chile's democratic socialist experiment under Allende, the title's geographic nod suggests European leftists romanticizing distant revolutions they won't personally suffer.
Bernadette Lafont was a Nouvelle Vague icon; her casting as Edwarda deliberately evokes her earlier roles as sexually liberated women, here weaponizing that persona for political manipulation.
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