Le Cavaleur had the potential to be a fine comedy but Philippe de Broca and Michel Audiard went on a far more serious path and the light vaudeville gradually turns into a sad story about the meaning of life: getting old, building something and above all finding joy in the routine of day-to-day life with those who are willing to give you more than you manage to give them.
De Broca and Audiard were past there buoyant prime although Tendre Poulet was perfectly crafted, yet already with ageing characters that were no longer as vivacious and light-hearted as Belmondo in L'Homme de Rio or Cartouche or the Bebel shows of the 70s. Characters have more depth and it's more about tongue in cheek jokes, and in Le Cavaleur more about dead-serious life matters.
The funny thing is that both de Broca and Audiard became famous - and derided by the high-brow types - for their entertaining added-value and were firmly convinced in the 60s that movie-goers are craving for escapism, not to find the same issues they were having in their private lives blown up on the big screen.
Edouard Choiseul (Jean Rochefort) naively thinks he can continuously escape the realities of life, taking women for granted, only to find himself grounded with his family life and the need to accept ageing and eventually growing up beyond that selfish young stud he once was. The movie does a good job of telling this story, unfortunately this is all very disheartening as it starts with high comedic expectations. Quite a sobering exercise.
