[Program title]LE TEMPS DEVANT SOI Ⅴ – Prendre son temps
[Film title] Alexandre Le Bienheureux
[Date] 2012.9.1 – 9.30
[Screen time] 90 min.
[Place] Maison Hermès 10F 5-4-1, Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0061
1968 / France / 90 min / Color / 35mm
Producer/Director: Yves Robert
Writer: Yves Robert, Pierre Levy-Corti
Cinematography: René Mathelin
Original Music: Vladimir Cosma
Cast: Philippe Noiret, Françoise Brion, Marlène Jobert
Subtitle: Yoko Matsuoka
This comedy depicts the commotion created by Alexander, an idle farmer in a tranquil French village. Alexander is fed up with constantly being hounded to work harder by his wife, who values efficiency above all else, and he spends his time seeking ways to get out of work. One morning he decides that he will stay in bed and relax all day. He sends his dog off to the village to do the shopping but…
Yves Robert is known for his many comedies, including La Guerre des boutons (1961), which won France’s Prix Jean Vigo. The film Alexandre Le Bienheureux is a paean to freedom and to man’s ability to resist social pressure. While painting a picture of a carefree, idle lifestyle, this philosophical moral tale questions modern man’s relationship to time, the single-minded pursuit of work and efficiency which has caused us to forget the benefits of slowing down and taking it easy.