Marche à l'ombre (1984)
Directed by Michel Blanc

Film Review

Popular actor Michel Blanc made his directorial début with this ebullient urban comedy, in which he stars alongside sex symbol Gérard Lanvin.  Whilst the plot is a bit of a mess, Blanc manages to hold the whole thing together well for a novice director, and there are plenty of visual gags to keep us entertained.  The film's strength lies in the amazing Blanc-Lanvin double act, the two contrasting actors playing off each other to great effect: Blanc the inept yet surprisingly successful Don Juan, Lanvin the seemingly conventional screen lover who fails to get lucky (despite oozing sex appeal by the bucket load).  By contrast, the supporting cast is quite weak, and are unable to make much of their under-written character parts.  Although the film was a commercial success, it would be a decade before Michel Blanc would direct his next film.

Film Synopsis

After bumming their way around the Mediterranean, two dropouts in their late twenties, François and Denis, return to France without a sou to their name.  The only person they can turn to for help is an old friend of François's, but he seems to have disappeared. The two friends end up in a squalid hotel, where they fall in with an African man, Joseph, who invites them to share a squat with him and his friends.  Life on the margins seems to suit François and Denis.  They manage to scrape by easily enough, selling stolen goods and busking to meet their material needs.  Things become more complicated for them both when they fall in love.  As Denis starts an affair with a black girl, Marie Gabrielle, François goes chasing after Mathilde, an aspiring dancer.  When Mathilde leaves him to pursue her dream of fame and fortune in America, François persuades his buddy to accompany him to New York...