Les Savates du bon Dieu (2000)
Directed by Jean-Claude Brisseau

Film Review

Les Savates du bon Dieu is an unsettling blend of melodrama, thriller and black comedy.  It begins as what looks like a familiar social drama and within fifteen minutes it is heading off in a completely different direction, becoming more bizarre by the minute.   Whilst this is certainly a fresh and surprising approach to cinema, the novelty value soon wears off, and the impression that emerges is that this is actually a clumsy attempt to blend two very different films.

The first film is a continuation of the realist drama with which the film opens and involves Fred's developing relationship with a former girlfriend Sandrine.    The second is a totally off-the-wall comedy thriller which is anything but realistic, involving comic book gangsters and a seemingly omniscient African prince.  Whilst either of these strands of the film might have worked well as a separate film, when they are combined, their good points largely cancel each other out, and the result is not far from satisfactory.  The one part of the film where the merging of the two strands of the film works well is where Sandrine is teaching Fred to read (the words of legendary screenwriter Jacques Prévert).  This scene is inter-cut with images of a smooth bank robbery which looks as if it might have been cut from a film by Jean-Pierre Melville.

The film abounds with references to many other film-makers - most noticeably Jean-Luc Godard (the film begins with a re-working of the opening scene from Le Mépris whilst a large chunk of the plot has been "borrowed" from Pierrot le fou).   Director Jean-Claude Brisseau intended the film to be a homage to the world's greatest film directors.  Unfortunately, he gets a little carried away and, with some of the references a little too obvious, he merely provides another way to weaken the narrative and distract his audience.  This is a pity because the film also has many plus points, including some stunning location photography and alluring performances from young actors Stanislas Merhar and Raphaële Godin.

Film Synopsis

20-something Fred lives with his young wife Élodie in the rundown suburbs and struggles to earn enough to support himself and his young family.  Being too generous by half, Fred can't help giving away his hard earned cash to his friends, and this so angers his wife that she walks out on him, taking their young daughter with her.  Fred is still licking his wounds when an old girlfriend, Sandrine, suddenly re-enters his life.  Together, they rob a post office and go on the run.

The two partners in crime take refuge in a school, and it is here that they meet Maguette, an African mystic who claims to be the son of a king.  Fred and Sandrine are quick to make use of the stranger's magical powers and with Maguette's help they continue their life of crime, raiding banks as they take flight to the south of France.  By the end of his crime spree, Fred has accumulated a small fortune and can live the easy life, his troubles finally behind him.  But he cannot stop thinking about his wife Élodie and in the end he makes up his mind to try to win her back...