An actor who does not suffer fools gladly finds himself replaced by one in this comedy. The citizens of a French village decide to celebrate their history by staging a play that will chronicle memorable events from the town's past. The play's author, Alexis, casts his wife Janine (Isabelle Candelier) in the leading female role despite her odd way of delivering dialogue. However, for the male lead, Alexis hires an arrogant professional actor from Paris, Jean-Pascal Faix. The village simpleton, Andre , has volunteered to serve as a stagehand and prompter. When Andre mistakenly leads Jean-Pascal into a trash dumpster that's soon dragged away, he's convinced (falsely) that he's killed the Parisian actor -- and is determined to take his place so that the show will go on.
Acting
Michel Vuillermoz commits fully to André's deranged confidence.
Writing
Meta-theatrical layers where everyone's always performing badly on purpose.
Director
Thibault Staib
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Directors Silvestre and Staib never made another feature—this 90-minute fever dream remains their sole cinematic legacy.
The film satirizes France's Paris-province divide: André's 'authentic' village idiocy triumphs over Jean-Pascal's polished urban pretension—a very French revenge fantasy.
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