The AFSR Ciné-club selection for May is Francis Veber’s 2006 comedy, The Valet (La doublure) starring Daniel Auteil and Kristin Scott Thomas. It’s a ridiculous satire that Moliere would have appreciated, showing how far the bourgeoisie will go to protect their reputation.
We will screen the film at 3:00 pm on Wednesday, May 20 in the AFSR Grande Salle at 1011 2nd Street, Suite 206, in Santa Rosa. Directly following the screening, at 4:30 pm, we will host a bilingual discussion of the film in person and online via Zoom. Please RSVP below to participate in person or to receive the Zoom link.
Popcorn and refreshments will be served.
The event is free.
In his New York Times review, Stephen Holden said:
Francis Veber, who wrote and directed “The Valet,” is a master of the modern French farce. And this film has the same tight structure and carefully plotted surprises and reversals as his earlier comedies “The Dinner Game” and “The Closet.” These movies are wonderfully frothy contrivances, built with traditional machinery from models that have been around for centuries.
We hope to see you on the 20th!
Film Details
Original title / Titre originale: La Doublure (2006)
Running time / Durée: 1h25m
Genres: Comedy
Directed by / Réalisé par: Francis Veber
Casting: Gad Elmaleh, Alice Taglioni, Daniel Auteuil, Kristin Scott Thomas, Richard Berry
Stream it online / Regarder sur: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Surpris par un paparazzi avec Éléna, sa maîtresse, un top model superbe, le milliardaire Pierre Levasseur tente d’éviter un divorce sanglant en inventant un mensonge invraisemblable. Il profite de la présence sur la photo, d’un passant, François Pignon, pour affirmer à sa femme qu’Éléna n’est pas avec lui, mais avec Pignon. Pignon est voiturier. C’est un petit homme modeste. Levasseur, pour accréditer son mensonge, est obligé d’envoyer la trop belle Elena vivre avec Pignon. Éléna chez Pignon, c’est un oiseau de paradis dans un H.L.M. Et aussi une mine de situations.
Caught by tabloid paparazzi with his mistress Elena, a famous and beautiful fashion model, billionaire Pierre Levasseur tries to avoid a divorce by inventing a preposterous lie. He uses the presence of a passerby in the photo to claim to his wife that it’s not him Elena is seeing but the other man, one François Pignon. Pignon is a modest little man who works as a parking valet. To make the story convincing, Elena has to move in with Pignon.