This movie is an excellent and light comedy gently mocking racial prejudices between French, Jewish people and Arabs ... The actors are emblematic of the 70s in French cinema. Michel Constantin and the great Jean-Pierre Marielle, too often confined to supporting roles, are both perfect, as well as the magnificent Mireille Darc who plays with all her charm. We wouldn't make this kind of comedies anymore nowadays, politically too incorrect, which is a shame ... Another reason to watch it!
6 Reviews
Slight but amusing comedy
gridoon202425 December 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Not one of Francis Veber's more famous films (as a screenwriter), probably because it is one of the few that have not been remade in the US, but still an amiable enough diversion. Veber's formula is simple: a funny farcical premise, characters who become more human and likable as you get to know them (played by an engaging cast), and a pacifistic, pro-friendship message . The formula mostly works. **1/2 out of 4.
dented by time, except for Mireille Darc
wvisser-leusden8 August 2012
Warning: Spoilers
'La valise' (= French for 'the trunk') is a lighthearted French comedy from 1973. It centers around a trunk designed to smuggle a person by diplomatic post to another country. Almost inevitably for the politics of those days, its plot is situated in the then current Israeli - Arab conflict.
By now this film clearly is covered by a layer of dust. Its theme & humor aren't of our times anymore. Its advertised philosophy of 'free love' has been outdated by AIDS.
What remains is the fine quality of its lighthearted storytelling, and .... female lead Mireille Darc. From all participants in 'La valise', Darc is the only one who survived the denting of time. Her appearance still makes this film worth watching.
By now this film clearly is covered by a layer of dust. Its theme & humor aren't of our times anymore. Its advertised philosophy of 'free love' has been outdated by AIDS.
What remains is the fine quality of its lighthearted storytelling, and .... female lead Mireille Darc. From all participants in 'La valise', Darc is the only one who survived the denting of time. Her appearance still makes this film worth watching.
three spies and one blonde
dromasca25 December 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Mireille Darc is the main reason why I chose to see Georges Lautner's 'La valise' (distributed on English-speaking markets under the title 'Man in the Trunk'). A film like this shouldn't be taken too seriously, but that doesn't mean it can't be discussed. It is a parody of spy and action movies and a comedy inspired by the Arab-Israeli conflict. It caused scandal and was rejected by some of the public. It was made and launched in 1973, the year of one of the bloodiest wars in the Middle East. Revisited now, 50 years later, at a time when this conflict has become even more violent, it offers perhaps one of the few therapies possible in confronting the horrors of such realities - an escapist and romance comedy. It is obviously an approach that could not and cannot be accepted by everyone, then and now.
The story starts in Libya, where the Israeli agent Bloch takes refuge in the French embassy after a spectacular chase through the streets of the capital Tripoli. The French decide to extract him from Libya by transporting him in a chest marked as diplomatic mail and send their secret agent Captain Augier on a mission for this purpose. A strike at the airport delays the flight on which the two (one passenger, one in the trunk) were supposed to return to Paris and they have to spend some time in the same hotel where the beautiful cabaret performer Françoise is staying. Both men fall in love with the woman who has the gift of charming all the men in her path (and those watching the film). When the plane is hijacked by the terrorists who are looking for Bloch, the heart-winning talents of the beautiful Françoise will have to be used intensively, especially since the adventures that will take the heroes all over North Africa and in the waters of the Mediterranean are just beginning.
Georges Lautner had made several successful films until 1973, but almost all of them were in the film noir genre. Here he approaches the comic register and the success is only partial. The reason is precisely the script, written by Lautner in collaboration with Francis Veber, an excellent screenwriter, who would also start a few years later a career as a director marked by several memorable successes, although he made few films. The established Lautner and the younger Veber disappoint here with a fairly banal scenario, with comic situations and characters that do not exceed the level of mediocre film comedies. Thus, "La valise" is left to rely on the talent of the actors, and here the bet pays off. Mireille Darc is formidable. Her Françoise is sexy, a 'modern' but also a little melancholic girl. Jean-Pierre Marielle, one of those actors whose face is familiar to us from many films but who rarely gets a consistent role, enjoys more screen time here and uses it with charm and warmth. Michel Constantin, the actor specialized in brutal gangster roles, proves here his comic talents, especially when he acts the lover. Two more excellent French comedians appear in secondary roles: Jean Lefebvre and Michel Galabru. Their presence in such small roles is an indication that this film attracted well-known actors of the time, who wanted to be present on the credits. We totally understand their reasons. "La valise" may not be a masterpiece, but it's a nice comedy.
The story starts in Libya, where the Israeli agent Bloch takes refuge in the French embassy after a spectacular chase through the streets of the capital Tripoli. The French decide to extract him from Libya by transporting him in a chest marked as diplomatic mail and send their secret agent Captain Augier on a mission for this purpose. A strike at the airport delays the flight on which the two (one passenger, one in the trunk) were supposed to return to Paris and they have to spend some time in the same hotel where the beautiful cabaret performer Françoise is staying. Both men fall in love with the woman who has the gift of charming all the men in her path (and those watching the film). When the plane is hijacked by the terrorists who are looking for Bloch, the heart-winning talents of the beautiful Françoise will have to be used intensively, especially since the adventures that will take the heroes all over North Africa and in the waters of the Mediterranean are just beginning.
Georges Lautner had made several successful films until 1973, but almost all of them were in the film noir genre. Here he approaches the comic register and the success is only partial. The reason is precisely the script, written by Lautner in collaboration with Francis Veber, an excellent screenwriter, who would also start a few years later a career as a director marked by several memorable successes, although he made few films. The established Lautner and the younger Veber disappoint here with a fairly banal scenario, with comic situations and characters that do not exceed the level of mediocre film comedies. Thus, "La valise" is left to rely on the talent of the actors, and here the bet pays off. Mireille Darc is formidable. Her Françoise is sexy, a 'modern' but also a little melancholic girl. Jean-Pierre Marielle, one of those actors whose face is familiar to us from many films but who rarely gets a consistent role, enjoys more screen time here and uses it with charm and warmth. Michel Constantin, the actor specialized in brutal gangster roles, proves here his comic talents, especially when he acts the lover. Two more excellent French comedians appear in secondary roles: Jean Lefebvre and Michel Galabru. Their presence in such small roles is an indication that this film attracted well-known actors of the time, who wanted to be present on the credits. We totally understand their reasons. "La valise" may not be a masterpiece, but it's a nice comedy.
Excellent comedy
radlov10 September 1999
It is many years ago that I saw this film, but I still remember it as one of the best comedies I ever saw. Mireille Darc is a very attractive heroin of this turbulent, light hearted vaudeville, masterfully directed by George Lautner.
Man In A Suitcase.
morrison-dylan-fan5 March 2015
Warning: Spoilers
Being in the mood to watch an easy-going Spy movie,I started searching round my mountains of DVDs,and I spotted a title which I had planned to watch for a poll being held on IMDbs Classic Film board for the best films of 1973,but had never got round to!,which led to me picking up the trunk.
View on the film:
Opening with a sweet (if rather naïve) message about how the making of this title shows that people of different faiths can work together in harmony,the screenplay by co-writer/ (along with Francis Veber)director Georges Lautner unleashes a fantastic balance between espionage & fast-pace Comedy.
Shoving Bloch into the trunk at every opportunity,the writers give the Bloch/Augier team a charming buddy Comedy,slap- stick atmosphere,which goes from them each spying on the others own interest in Françoise,to Bloch attempting to re- enact his night of passion with Françoise,with Augier.
Possibly being the first ever women in a spy film to appear naked,the stunning Mireille Darc gives a very good performance as Françoise,with Darc turning Françoise into a siren,whose every flirty sway over powers any man who sets eyes on her.
Chasing after Françoise, Michel Constantin gives a great. Grizzled performance as quick-witted Capt. Augier,whilst Jean-Pierre Marielle hilariously sighs at every mishap Bloch faces,as he gets back in the trunk.
View on the film:
Opening with a sweet (if rather naïve) message about how the making of this title shows that people of different faiths can work together in harmony,the screenplay by co-writer/ (along with Francis Veber)director Georges Lautner unleashes a fantastic balance between espionage & fast-pace Comedy.
Shoving Bloch into the trunk at every opportunity,the writers give the Bloch/Augier team a charming buddy Comedy,slap- stick atmosphere,which goes from them each spying on the others own interest in Françoise,to Bloch attempting to re- enact his night of passion with Françoise,with Augier.
Possibly being the first ever women in a spy film to appear naked,the stunning Mireille Darc gives a very good performance as Françoise,with Darc turning Françoise into a siren,whose every flirty sway over powers any man who sets eyes on her.
Chasing after Françoise, Michel Constantin gives a great. Grizzled performance as quick-witted Capt. Augier,whilst Jean-Pierre Marielle hilariously sighs at every mishap Bloch faces,as he gets back in the trunk.
See also
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