The man in the red skirt
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | My uncle Benjamin, the man in the red skirt |
| Original title | Mon oncle Benjamin |
| Country of production | France |
| original language | French |
| Publishing year | 1969 |
| length | 90 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Édouard Molinaro |
| script |
André Couteaux , Jean-François Hauduroy , Édouard Molinaro |
| production |
Roger Debelmas , Robert Sussfeld |
| music |
Jacques Brel , François Rauber , François de Roubaix |
| camera | Alain Levent |
| cut |
Monique Isnardon , Robert Isnardon |
| occupation | |
| |
The man in the red skirt (original title: Mon oncle Benjamin , cinema title: Mein Unkel Benjamin , video title Mein Unkel Benjamin and Der Frauenheld ) is a French film by Édouard Molinaro from 1969 , based on motifs from the novel Mein Unkel Benjamin by Claude Tillier . Jacques Brel and Claude Jade played the leading roles .
France in the 17th century. The country doctor Benjamin loves the innkeeper’s daughter Manette, whose father wants to couple his daughter for a profit. Manette is even ready to be kidnapped by Benjamin - but only with the following marriage certificate. Benjamin fears marriage. But Manette finds an ally in Hector de Pont-Cassé. Pont-Cassé must protect Benjamin from the vengeance of the Marquis de Cambyse, a vile nobleman whom Benjamin played a trick on. But Pont-Cassé's influence did not save Benjamin from leaving for exile. In the end, Manette accompanies her Benjamin - even without a marriage license - into exile.
action
Country doctor Benjamin has just cupped Madame Fata when he arrives at the inn in the village of Clamecy. There he is received by the beautiful landlady Manette, his lover. But Manette's father, the innkeeper Jean-Pierre, does not want to give Manette to the poor doctor as a wife. Manette only wants to indulge Benjamin in exchange for a marriage certificate. In this dilemma, Benjamin Manette suggests simply kidnapping her. But since she wants to get married afterwards, he refrains from this plan. Manette accompanies him to his drinking buddies in the hostel. There, the doctor Minxit reports that his daughter Arabelle will soon be returning from the monastery and that he would like to see Benjamin take Arabelle as his wife. Manette realizes this and is angry. During the feast there is a silly argument about the marriage between Benjamin and his brother-in-law Machecourt, his sister Bettine's husband. When the two drunk men are fencing with swords, Manette rushes off and fetches Bettine, who ends the argument with nagging. Manette is satisfied for the time being.
At night Benjamin is called to a dying man. After the man's death, he takes his orphan boy Gaspard with him. Since his sister Bettine and her husband Machecourt already have five children of their own, they adopt Gaspard. So the country doctor becomes Gaspard's uncle Benjamin.
When Benjamin is told to visit the doctor's daughter Arabelle at the urging of his sister, he prefers to ride to the inn with a sergeant he meets on the way. There there is an argument between Benjamin and Manette, but they reconcile and kiss in the wine cellar. When they confess their love, the two are caught by Manette's father. Manette is punished with arrest and is not allowed to leave her room.
When Benjamin is supposed to visit Arabelle again, he rides to Minxit with Bettine and Gaspard. On the way they meet the hunting party of the Marquis de Cambyse. When Benjamin does not respectfully greet him and replies that the king can appoint a marquis every day but not a doctor, the marquis arrests him. As a punishment, Benjamin had to kiss the marquis's bare bottom in front of the court. Amid the laughter of the courtiers, the marquis declares that Benjamin can now boast that he has kissed a marquis.
In Clamecy, the residents learned of the Marquis' deed and they are preparing for a revolt. But Benjamin comes back and explains that vengeance will have to wait a little longer. Manette is happy that Benjamin explains to the doctor Minxit that he would do without Arabelle.
Arabelle is in love with the young nobleman Hector de Pont-Cassé. Hector suspects Benjamin to be a rival and Benjamin insults the nobility at a dinner. Hector is offended and challenges Benjamin to a duel. Benjamin secretly sneaks up to Manette. He climbs in her window to assure her of his love. Manette is reluctant to fight words, but they are now reconciled again.
In the duel between Benjamin and Hector, the two men become friends, as it turns out that Benjamin has no interest in Arabelle and only loves Manette. Hector promises Benjamin to help him. Meanwhile, Manette has fled her room and rushes to the duel. On the way there she meets Hector and his friend Guillaume de Vallombreuse. When Hector learns from Manette that her father is refusing her marriage to Benjamin because he is poor, he rides to the inn with Guillaume. There he claims to have killed Benjamin in a duel. He forces Manette's father to step into a wine barrel and pray for poor Benjamin's soul. The wine barrel is closed.
Benjamin disguises himself as a miracle healer and visits the castle of the marquis with a robe, glasses and a fake beard. When he threatens to choke on a fishbone, Benjamin announces that he will not save him until the marquis kisses his bare bottom - in front of the assembled court. The marquis now kisses Benjamin's bottom.
Benjamin rushes to Manette and all of his friends. Hector knocks on the barrel and allows the imprisoned landlord to only release him if he allows Manette to marry if she wants and also to give her a large dowry. Believing Benjamin is dead, the man in the barrel agrees. When Hector opens the barrel, the landlord sees Benjamin and Manette holding hands. He has to consent. Just as Benjamin Manette's father asks for his daughter's hand, soldiers come and arrest Benjamin for insulting the Marquis. Benjamin goes to prison and is torn from Manette's arms.
Hector intervenes with the king and Benjamin is released for the time being, but has to leave the country. He is threatened with banishment. When the doctor Minxit senses that he is dying, he has a big dinner with all his friends, including Benjamin and Manette, and Arabelle and Hector de Pont-Cassé. After Minxit's funeral, soldiers come and take Benjamin to the border. But Hector now brings Manette and Benjamin's nephew Gaspard to the border as well. Manette and Benjamin say goodbye to Hector, because Manette has decided to go into exile with Benjamin - even without a marriage license. When Gaspard disappears to a river to catch crabs, Manette is ready to give Benjamin her “bloom”, as her father calls her virginity, her “small capital”. Benjamin and Manette run hand in hand across the field and disappear behind a haystack.
Remarks
The film "Mon oncle Benjamin" received the rating "Particularly valuable" from the film evaluation office on June 8, 1973.
In Claude Tillier's novel - even before the sensual landlady Manette - the doctor's daughter Arabelle is the main female character. The role of Arabelle that was offered to her seemed too pale to Claude Jade. So Molinaro changed the script and Claude Jade played the manette.
At the time of filming, Edouard Molinaro's wife Pierrette, a sports pilot, was killed in a plane crash. Molinaro dedicated the film to his wife. The opening credits say “à Pierrette”.
The Georgian film The Banquet of the Rose was also made in 1969, based on motifs from the novel by Tillier. The film finds its main storyline in the farewell dinner of the dying doctor Minxit, to which he invites his friends.
With over 2.7 million viewers in France, My Uncle Benjamin is one of the most successful films of 1969.
For the 1971 dubbed version of DEFA-Synchron, the main actors were dubbed by Rolf Römer (for Jacques Brel) and Friederike Aust (for Claude Jade). The DEFA version was used for the German video evaluation “My Onkel Benjamin”.
In 2013 “Mon oncle Benjamin” was released in France on DVD and Blu-ray Disc
Difference from the novel
In the novel Benjamin has his love affair with landlady Manette (in the film she is the landlady's daughter), but they are never interested in marriage. In the novel, Minxit's daughter Arabelle dies during the kidnapping by her lover Pont-Cassé. In the film, Manette is the only object of desire. In the film, Manette leaves with him after Benjamin's exile, while Pont-Cassé is happy with Arabelle.
Reviews
“Jacques Brel as Benjamin and - not to be forgotten! - Claude Jade as Manette have brought more sun to our earth than all the long faded Sun Kings put together. "
"Told from a classic French picaresque novel of a coarse and cheerful way. The stylistic inconsistency and some clumsy tastelessness reduce the entertainment value. "
"One of the great advantages of the film is the acquaintance with the beautiful and highly talented Claude Jade, an actress who also fascinated François Truffaut enough [...]."
German theatrical releases and broadcast dates on German television
December 3, 1971 Kino GDR February 2, 1975 Kino BRD
September 17, 1983 I. PR. GDR television first broadcast; Repeats on: July 6, 1985 II. PR .; March 7, 1987 II. PR .; March 26, 1989 II. PR .; First Tele5 broadcast (under the title "DER MANN IM ROTEN ROCK"): February 24, 1991, WDHL: March 2, 1991
In addition, "Mein Unkel Benjamin" appears on video under the titles "Mein Unkel Benjamain" (on Universal Home Video) and "Der Frauenheld".
literature
- Claude Tillier : My uncle Benjamin (original title: Mon oncle Benjamin) . German by Irene Riesen . Illustrated by Almut Gernhardt . Haffmans, Zurich 1991, 318 pages, ISBN 3-251-01120-0
Web links
- The man in red rock in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Article about the film My Uncle Benjamin
Individual evidence
- ↑ Film Predicates (1973–1982) . fafo.at. Archived from the original on April 8, 2005. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
- ↑ Mon Oncle Benjamin ( French ) JP's Box-Office. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
- ↑ The man in the red skirt. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed May 18, 2015 .