The Great Love

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Audience Member Enjoyable comedy made by the inimitable Pierre Etaix, filled with sight gags and clever plot situations. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review s r Subtle and original humor. A well made movie. See it just for the dream sequence involving the driving beds. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Co-writer/director Pierre Etaix plays a young man who marries for convenience and settles into a comfortable rut working for his father-in-law's tannery. Ten years of routine have led him to pine away for his pretty young secretary, but the film's narrative is refreshingly reluctant to allow his aging male ego to rationalize its fragility. The Great Love is Etaix' first color film, but it still relies heavily on the sight gags, sound effects, and physical humor that its director borrows liberally from the silent era. Its most memorable scene is probably a dream sequence where Etaix and his intended paramour are whisked along the countryside by a roving bed; that part is an apt symbol of this film's tone, theme, and sense of acerbic whimsy. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/05/23 Full Review Audience Member The way a couple experience marriage may be totally different from how the community perceives it. Comedy from the word go is inventive and surprising. There were fresh point of views in display. Women passing on what hapenned between protagonist and lady in the park, friends' advice on how the protagonist should talk to his wife are all good examples. The staire is given a fluid subtility in the dream sequence. Monotony in marriage may not always be a bad thing;) Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/25/23 Full Review eric b The attempt to cast French actor/writer/director Pierre Etaix as an unsung master of physical comedy is not misguided -- he really does have some marvelous gags, choreographed with beautifully paced precision. However, in "Le Grand Amour," his efforts are wasted on a tired, sexist premise. Etaix plays a successful businessman who has been married for 10 years to an average woman who lacks dazzle. And his mother-in-law is much worse. When his new secretary turns out to be a 18-year-old beauty, he falls in love at first sight and immediately considers leaving his wife for her. Does he have any chemistry with the girl? No. Do her own feelings matter? No. She's his for the asking. Apparently. If you can get past the story's oh-so-French chauvinism, there are some delightful laughs and at least two brilliant set pieces: one, a fantasy in which Etaix imagines driving his bed around the countryside with the girl by his side and, two, a bitter sequence in which he uses a room of items cut in half (even a piano) to show his wife what would happen if she left him and demanded half of his assets. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Good french comedy which relies on the absurdity of a situation instead of pratfalls or quick banter. Watch for the use of color to accent the actors and props. This Etaix's first foray into color, made after he had taken a 3 year hiatus to return to his earlier work as a clown. He cast several of his clown friends in this pic - including his soon to be wife, Annie Fratellini. Etaix's films have only recently been made available in the West after disagreements about distribution rights. This film was nominated for the Palme d'Or. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Read all reviews

The Great Love

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