Charlie and His Two Chicks (1973) User Reviews

Menage à Trois

[dbdumonteil · 14 April 2008]

At the time ,and in spite of May 68 spirit,the very subject of the movie was deemed scandalous by well meaning people although it was not new.And I won't even call to FRançois TRuffault for help cause Ernst Lubitsch's "Design for living"(1933) was already a Ménage à Trois story .And in France,Alain Delon had already produced "Madly" (1970) which people called "immoral" .

"Charlie Et Ses Deux Nenettes" is a much better attempt than Delon's chic dud.First it takes place in a popular milieu,which was (still is) rare in the seventies -in direct contrast to the masterpieces of the thirties - when the bourgeois psychological drama à la Sautet -I'd rather have "Charlie" than "Cesar and Rosalie" anytime - was trendy.

Charlie and the girls are on the dole.Charlie has a van and they go from town to town,selling oilcloth in the market places..it won't be long before the three of them sleep together.But they meet Tony a lady killer who sells miniature cathedrals and who owns a comfortable trailer....

"Charlie..." is a good movie,if only for its spontaneity and its good humor.

This was Joel Seria's second effort.His first one,"Mais Ne Nous Delivrez Pas Du Mal " has a nefarious reputation:quite rightly so,for it was like a bolt from the blue in 1972 ;try too see it at any cost. "Les Galettes de Pont-Aven" and "Marie -Poupée" also deserve a watch ,but it's downhill afterward.

The everyday virtues of good humour, hard work, modest tastes and, above all, loyal friendship

[charlot47-81-373873 · 3 May 2024]

Charlie is a market trader criss-crossing France in an old van to sell oilcloths, in balmy summer and bitter winter, eating in little bistros and sleeping in cheap hotels. Working hard, he makes enough to live his simple life and always stays cheerful. He has the immense advantage of two delightful girls, Guislaine and Josyane, cousins at a loose end after leaving school and happy to share his wanderings. Revelling in the freedom of life on the road, the girls enjoy each other's company and that of Charlie,

The three have many adventures, until Josyane goes off with another trader who has a big mouth and a big caravan, towed by a big Cadillac. Guislane, sweet and more sensible, stays with Charlie as the two travel on around France for months, hoping every day to find and rescue Josyane. Just when they decide to give up their hopeless search, they see her collapsed at a bus stop and the happy team is reunited.

A simple tale about simple people, set in a real world. Not raising any great issues, it praises the everyday virtues of good humour, hard work, modest tastes and, above all, loyal friendship. A huge contrast with Seria's preceding "Mais ne nous délivrez pas du mal", which instead had two very naughty girls, and using a less highly-coloured emotional palette than the next three. I say three, because "Comme la lune" fits in well with his two films before it and should not be omitted.