Les surmenés

The Eminence Grise of the Cahiers Du Cinema which unfairly trashed many worthwhile directors in the past ,Doniol-Volcroze was not gifted when it came to making his own films :with an exception,he never produced a really worthwhile movie:the oasis in the desert of his work is represented by his 1970 effort "La Maison Des Bories" which owed much to his actors ,Matthieu Carrière and Marie Dubois.

This is a short ,which was made before "L'Eau A La Bouche",his first feature film;in twenty minutes,it tells the story of a bubble head girl ,who just won a typewriting contest and comes to Paris where she becomes some kind of secretary;apart from her brother-in-law ,she meets two men : a sensible nine-to -five one ,(Jean-Pierre Cassel)and a playboy she met on the train(Jean-Claude Brialy ) who leads her in a whirl of pleasures ,a little incompatible with her work.To help her ,the reasonable guy gives a book saying "do read ,the answer to everything is in it".

This book provides the movie with a good "punch line" ,which proves that ,from time to time,the NV could display a sense of humor ,here inspired by dear old La Fontaine.