In what turned out to be his only film - he suffered a fatal heart attack shortly after shooting it at the relatively young age of 66 - the well-established writer and actor Jean Poiret cast his wife, Caroline Cellier opposite Thierry Thermitte in a slightly bittersweet romantic comedy reminiscent of Billy Wilder's The Apartment in the way that Poiret skillfully segues from comedy to drama. The premise is simple: Hippolyte Pecheral (Thermitte) is a successful and slightly eccentric lawyer. He has been happily married to Camille (Cellier) for fifteen years and they have two teenage children. In yet another reference to an earlier film he begins to fear that such perfect love cannot last (see: The Hairdresser's Husband) and so he begins to actively play the Zebra (French slang for oddball)in an effort to keep the love fresh and ideally immortal. Attractive and highly desirable in her own right Camille has several overt would-be lovers, any one of whom could be the author of the billet-doux she keeps finding in strange places but her initial interest turns to annoyance when she is the only one to keep the suggested assignations. If you're in the right mood this is a delightful film that moves effortlessly from elation to despair and takes you right with it. It is a great pity that Poiret did not live to write and direct any more films as charming as this one.
Review of Le zèbre
