Pascal Mazzotti Movies

Many documentaries have looked at the grimmer side of the Nazi occupation of France: at the lives of collaborators and resistance figures. This documentary looks instead at the daily lives of survival-minded ordinary people, and the French people's undaunted desire to live and enjoy life even under the occupation. French entertainers performed for the Germans, and Frenchmen also attended German entertainments. Virtually the day after French cities were occupied, newspaper advertisements for restaurants appeared in German. French madams reminisce about their brothels' German customers, and one madam suggests that her German clients were cleaner (and thus preferable) to her later American ones. The question of how to balance survival against activities which were clearly collaborationist is explored. The distinction between these is shown to have been fuzzy indeed, the subject of many disagreements then and now. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

After singer, composer Jacques Brel gave up public performing, he appeared in a number of films in non-singing roles. This film is one of them. The story unfolds through flashbacks. When Mont-Dragon, a horse farm, needs a new manager, Georges (Jacques Brel), a dishonorably discharged army man, takes the post. Georges is out for revenge. The caretaker, who really runs the farm, was a military aide to the Colonel who caused Georges to lose his career and his reputation. Needless to say, the caretaker is not happy to see Georges become the new manager. The owner (Francoise Prevost) is the Colonel's widow, who was at one time Georges' lover. She now finds solace in the arms of her maid (Catherine Rouvel), whom Georges promptly takes to his own bed. As the story continues, he finds numerous ways to make everyone's lives miserable. These tensions carry the movie to its tragic conclusion. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide