Enfermés dehors (2006)
Directed by Albert Dupontel

Film Review

After Bernie (1996) and Le Créateur (1999) actor-turned-director Albert Dupontel proves that his eccentricity knows no bounds with this latest cinematic round of non-stop socially conscious lunacy.  Enfermés dehors is a riot of hyperactive comic-book madness from start to finish, and it is pretty obvious where Dupontel is taking the bulk of his inspiration from: Tex Avery's classic cartoons.  Like many a great comic filmmaker before him, including his idol Chaplin, Dupontel uses humour to draw our attention to the social injustices of our time, and here it is the turn of the down-and-outs and single mums to get the full Dupontel treatment.

Enfermés dehors may be a comedy, and an insane one at that, but beneath the madcap humour there is a serious subtext.  The central character, Roland, hilariously portrayed by Dupontel as a sympathetic psychopath, is condemned to live on the margins of society, along with most of the characters in the film.  A very human heart beats beneath the surface of this delirious over-the-top comedy and whilst the grasshopper flights of fancy do eventually become wearisome Dupontel's compassion for his fellow man never falters.   As if to acknowledge his debt to Monty Python, Dupontel ropes Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones into his off-the-wall fantasy for a cameo appearance - it is worth noting en passant that Jones had played God in the director's previous film.  Enfermés dehors is probably the wackiest film that Terry Gilliam never made.

Film Synopsis

One evening, Roland, a homeless man, witnesses a policeman commit suicide.  When he tries to hand over the dead man's possessions at the police station, he is not taken seriously and so he decides to wear the uniform himself.  This allows him access to the staff canteen and a very welcome free meal.  Here, he meets Marie, who is in a state of anguish after her parents-in-law kidnapped her daughter.   With the help of his homeless friends, Roland sets about recovering the girl and returning her to her mother.  Unfortunately, he mixes up the abductors with a famous businessman who has nothing to do with the case...