Very Happy Alexander

I have been searching for this film -- in any format -- for years. I saw it twice in two days in the late sixties at a small museum theater that showed mostly foreign and art films. And although it is, admittedly, a slight film and probably no one's idea of a great cinematic masterpiece, it has more charm than 99 out of 100 Hollywood comedies. It may be that the anarchic feeling of the film dovetailed so well with our own rebelliousness of that era. Maybe it was the dog. I imagine running it on a double bill with Marcel Pagnol's "The Baker's Wife" -- now THAT would be something!

I have scoured the websites and catalogs of lots of distributors looking for some evidence that "Alexandre" is out there somewhere, aspiring to a new life on DVD (or even VHS!), but to no avail. Let's hope this charming gem of a comedy is not lost forever -- THAT would be a tragedy!

I saw this movie in 1967 when it was released, and thought it was wonderful. I've managed to find and buy another French movie (with English subtitles from around the same period of time - sold in the U.S.) but after having found "Alexander" and searching the Internet for a U.S. seller, I have had no luck.

It appears, from what I can tell, that it's never been dubbed in English or has had a version made with English subtitles. I noticed that Amazon.com in France seems to be selling it on DVD (in French) but this would be extremely time consuming - with money conversion and transcontinental red tape, and it would probably be more costly than buying it in the U.S., etc. If someone has any information to the contrary, I would be very interested.

In an era that also gave us Peter Seller's Clouseau, Phillipe Noiret created another indelible comic character in Alexandre that deserves a certain degree of immortality. One can only hope that there is a vault somewhere that contains a decent print of the film and that the owners will see fit to preserve it. To describe "Alexandre le bienheureux" as charming is too soft a description -- it is social and political commentary wrapped in a delightful and hilarious package that has few equals. The ending was a revelation for a generation of young filmgoers who also believed there might be something more to life than laboring to gain subsistence. When it played in my hometown in the early 1970's -- in a limited run at the local art museum -- I dragged everyone I could find to it. Ah, to be able to do the same today!

This is a strangely great film. It is a comedy with many moments of uncontrollable hilarity. But what is special about it is that it haunts you long after you have seen it. The images sit vividly in your mind. The themes are built with great cleverness yet extremely subtly and entertainingly. This is a film of intelligence. It is superficially about the eternal war between men and women. But that is just the familiar context and not the real subject. It is really about small town customs and mores and how being different is a problem. It also has an extremely clever cyclical theme. This film ran continuously in Boston for years. (You can look it up.) It is not to be missed if at all possible. Anyone know how I can get a copy?

Every once in a while a movie sneaks up on you and just really flat out surprises you. For me, this was one of those movies. The french sure have a way with wit and comedy. They were masters at it. This one is at the top of the pile for sure. I guess you can't go back again but if you could, I would request more french comedies just like this one.

My day got a whole lot better watching this. This one is classified as a comedy and rightly so, but ,there needs to be another category for movies like this...Charming. If your not smiling or happy or not feeling better after watching this, you need therapy. They don't make em like this anymore. Absolutely fantastic film.