Henri Serin (Jean-Pierre Marielle), an umbrella salesman, leads a quiet life between his work, his family and his passion for painting. During his many business trips, Henri indulges in a few amorous escapades, which provide a welcome change from the tiresome daily routine his bigoted wife locks him into. One fine day, Henri decides to drop everything and live on love and fresh water. He ends up in Pont-Aven, where he meets Émile, a local painter imitating Gauguin, with whom he shares his drinking and other feminine attractions.
Acting
Marielle's sweaty desperation masks disturbing calculation.
Direction
Séria makes ugliness weirdly hypnotic, barely comic.
Director
Joël Séria
Jean-Pierre Marielle
Henri Serin, umbrella representative and painter
Claude Piéplu
Pilgrim / Peddler
Jeanne Goupil
Marie, maid
Dolores McDonough
Angela, frivolous young Quebec woman
Romain Bouteille
Vicar
Andréa Ferréol
Mrs. Licquois, client in the portrait
Bernard Fresson
Émile, professional painter
Martine Ferrière
Sister of the pilgrim / peddler
Gisèle Grimm
Mrs. Serin, Henri's wife
Louison Roblin
Merchant of the first shop
Dominique Lavanant
Marie Pape, prostitute in Breton costume
André Chaumeau
Obsequious shopkeeper of the “Nathalie” store
André Lacombe
Painter from Pont-Aven
Louison Roblin
Shopkeeper
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Released during France's post-1968 sexual liberation hangover, when 'age of consent' debates were genuinely contested in mainstream cinema. The film's casual treatment of its subject matter reflects a specific cultural moment now deeply uncomfortable.
Jean-Pierre Marielle reportedly took the role precisely because it disturbed him — he wanted to explore how ordinary men rationalize monstrous choices. The beach scenes were shot in Brittany during an actual heatwave, adding genuine physical discomfort to Henri's dissolving composure.
FR
