After stumbling on Beau Pere (1981) earlier this year, basically by accident, I enjoyed it so much I wanted to see more by this French director, Bertrand Blier. Get Out Your Handkerchiefs (1978) was said to have similar themes, and I had actually heard of it before- as an Oscar winner for Best Foreign Film. But the title suggesting a sappy romance had put me off on seeing it before I saw Beau Pere.
Sappy romance? Well, it's nothing off the sort. The film revolves around Solange, played by French Canadian Carole Laure, who's suffering an inexplicable deep depression with a range of negative symptoms. Her husband, Raoul, thinks an open marriage might cheer her up and enlists a stranger named Stéphane (Patrick Dewaere from Beau Pere) to be her lover.
Now, unlike some, the concept of open marriage doesn't quite shock me. What's really humorously puzzling is that when Solange seems uninterested in an affair, Raoul insists on it. Even when Stéphane doesn't think it's very wise, either. Both men, as well as a neighbour grocer, become a team working on Solange, trying to cure her of her depression, puzzling about women. Earlier in the film, Raoul pulls a woman off the street to ask her about the situation; she later drops out of the movie, but it might have been funny to see her stick with the group, making the team puzzling over Solange even bigger.
Half-way through the movie, Raoul, Stéphane and Solange work in a boys' summer camp, where they meet a 13-year-old prodigy, Christian. From here, the movie is mainly about Christian and Solange, with Raoul and Stéphane dropping to supporting roles- a little jarring at first, maybe. It's here where the movie shares a theme with Beau Pere, but with gender roles reversed- Christian and Solange become taboo lovers, and later, Solange and her team kidnap him, with Christian going willingly.
Now, of course hebephilia and statutory rape are sensitive topics these days, but as with Beau Pere, I don't think Blier's movie is defending it all that much. It's obvious Solange isn't in the best state of mental health, and when Raoul and Stéphane bitterly walk away after serving 6 months in jail, they realize the whole thing wasn't worth it.
Get Out Your Handkerchiefs is altogether a quirky, unique, and often funny movie. What I'm really left wondering about is the character of Solange- who is she, and how did she get the way she is? None of the characters can say for sure, they're not even sure if she's smart or "just plain dumb." It's said many times her depression is a result of having no kid, but why did she have a mental block against being pregnant? Ultimately, the audience is left to wonder along with Raoul and Stéphane while listening to Mozart and maybe sipping on a drink. Merci, Mozart.
Sappy romance? Well, it's nothing off the sort. The film revolves around Solange, played by French Canadian Carole Laure, who's suffering an inexplicable deep depression with a range of negative symptoms. Her husband, Raoul, thinks an open marriage might cheer her up and enlists a stranger named Stéphane (Patrick Dewaere from Beau Pere) to be her lover.
Now, unlike some, the concept of open marriage doesn't quite shock me. What's really humorously puzzling is that when Solange seems uninterested in an affair, Raoul insists on it. Even when Stéphane doesn't think it's very wise, either. Both men, as well as a neighbour grocer, become a team working on Solange, trying to cure her of her depression, puzzling about women. Earlier in the film, Raoul pulls a woman off the street to ask her about the situation; she later drops out of the movie, but it might have been funny to see her stick with the group, making the team puzzling over Solange even bigger.
Half-way through the movie, Raoul, Stéphane and Solange work in a boys' summer camp, where they meet a 13-year-old prodigy, Christian. From here, the movie is mainly about Christian and Solange, with Raoul and Stéphane dropping to supporting roles- a little jarring at first, maybe. It's here where the movie shares a theme with Beau Pere, but with gender roles reversed- Christian and Solange become taboo lovers, and later, Solange and her team kidnap him, with Christian going willingly.
Now, of course hebephilia and statutory rape are sensitive topics these days, but as with Beau Pere, I don't think Blier's movie is defending it all that much. It's obvious Solange isn't in the best state of mental health, and when Raoul and Stéphane bitterly walk away after serving 6 months in jail, they realize the whole thing wasn't worth it.
Get Out Your Handkerchiefs is altogether a quirky, unique, and often funny movie. What I'm really left wondering about is the character of Solange- who is she, and how did she get the way she is? None of the characters can say for sure, they're not even sure if she's smart or "just plain dumb." It's said many times her depression is a result of having no kid, but why did she have a mental block against being pregnant? Ultimately, the audience is left to wonder along with Raoul and Stéphane while listening to Mozart and maybe sipping on a drink. Merci, Mozart.