User Reviews

It's a comedy I am talking about. And the lead, from the very start, is a corpse. Like was the Hitchcock's THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY, but a bit more confusing. It's not boring, but some lengths may give you the feeling that you waste your time. Maybe too many characters, a little problem with the screen writing. Anyway, the De Funès character is not in every sequence. And this movie seems to be the best film from Maurice Delbez, a forgotten french director from this era.

Only the climax is very unexpected and Worth at the most.

Adapted from a Marcel Prêtre's novel, a writer who lived in Switzerland, and written by the notorious Michel Lebrun, a famous and dedicated french crime novels specialist, the best that France has ever known. A guy too soon gone, back in 1996.

In a charming Swiss town, the main recreation consists of fishing on the nearby lake. While out fishing, a fisherman accidentaly discovers the body of a man who died by violent means. Realising that he knew the victim and that he is about to become Suspect Number One, the fisherman is not keen to declare his find to authorities - on the contrary...

Yet another black-and-white comedy with Louis De Funès ; and yet another comedy which seems to be known under different titles. At the same time this is a completely black comedy, since it involves a pretty macabre subject : a dead man whose remains are constantly hidden, recovered, lost, transported... by the many people who disliked him or who do not want to be associated with his premature passing.

This is not a stellar masterwork, but it bears watching, at least by people willing to accept its sable-black premise : it's got good performances and a twisty, unpredictable plot with a completely unexpected resolution. The darkness of the human soul, with its greed, avarice, violence and lust, is nicely juxtaposed to a Swiss background so charming and delightful it could be made into a postcard. (Note the many flower-adorned buildings and the many blonde children in regional dress.) It's a pity that the black-and-white images rob these scenes of some of their impact - this is the kind of movie which calls out for full Technicolor.

Interesting concept : the story is narrated by the deceased himself.