Les Savates du Bon Dieu (2000)

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Dubbed The Wizard of Oz meets Karl Marx's version of It's a Wonderful Life, this film, directed by Jean-Claude Brisseau, is a wild, ludicrous comedy about an ill kind-hearted mechanic who becomes a bank robber. Young couple Fred (Stanislas Merhar) and Elodie (Coralie Revel) live in a low-rent tenement with their infant child. Fred is generous to a fault; he gives his money away to the point of endangering his family's finances. The final straw for the beautiful Elodie comes when Fred gets fired for head-butting his boss -- she dumps him. Lovelorn and crestfallen, Fred rashly robs a post office in order to help an aging beggar. He escapes with a stolen car and comely postal clerk Sandrine (Raphaele Godin), who has long had a crush on him. Together the two spread the booty Robin Hood-style to their fellow downtrodden. While hiding out in a school, they encounter Maquette (Emile Abossolo M'Bo), a supposed African prince who has been turned into a penniless exile thanks to his enemies. Later the three head south. While Fred knocks over the occasional liquor store, Sandrine patiently teaches her new beau to read. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi