King of Hearts (1967)

This film was a touchstone of the late 1960s, when it was seen as an antiwar allegory for a world in which madness seemed to reign. Of course, that would probably be true whenever this movie was shown, wouldn't it? Directed by Philippe de Broca and set during World War I, King of Hearts stars Alan Bates as a Scottish soldier separated from his unit in France. He wanders into a small French village that has been abandoned by its residents in the face of oncoming combat. Instead, the town is populated by the residents of a nearby insane asylum, whose keepers have fled--a fact that escapes the innocent soldier, who assumes these are the regular folks. A film that celebrates the innocence and wisdom of the insane, even as it questions who the real madmen are. --Marshall Fine Amazon.com

The Lunatic Asylum Comedy

"October 1918" is the date for this story. German soldiers are planting explosives to destroy the advancing British soldiers when they occupy a French city. The townspeople hurriedly evacuate the town. The British are warned, they will not march into town. Instead Private Plumpick [some pun?] will be sent in to scout the town and defuse the bombs - by himself! [Believable?] Discovered by the Germans, he flees into a building for refuge and safety; it is the local insane asylum. The result of the German withdrawal is the inmates can wander freely into the deserted town and select new clothes from the abandoned homes. [This slow-paced action doesn't seem too funny to me.] Comedy is in part cultural, and attitudes change. Perhaps the humor is in suggesting the clothes make the man or woman? Or what looks like normal people are really insane underneath?

This film is certainly unusual for its time. Is it an example of "French Farce"? Were any animals hurt in making this film? [One scene shows armored cars; did they exist at that time?] The film runs on, some scenes are comic and remind me of the clowns in a circus. Will a fireworks display have unintended consequences? Will opposing soldiers fire at each other at unbelievably close range? Will the freed lunatics return to their asylum? Where are the alienists? "Oh dear, who is it now?"

I can't believe this film was successful among viewers. Did they overspend on the costumes and underspend on the story?
November 12, 2008

One of the five best movies ever made

Funny, profound. Near perfect! In French, English and German -- with subtitles. Full of deep insights about sex, love, war, madness and society -- all in a charming hilarious wrapper. Watch it with someone you love! October 22, 2008

an Alan Bates fan

Saw this movie back when I was in college, so it brings back memories. Better than I remembered. August 21, 2008

The madness and madcap-ness of war

The madness of war makes the members of the asylum seem sane. Such is the theme of this anti-war comedy directed by France's Philippe de Broca, starring the English actor Alan Bates wearing a jaunty crown, and featuring a young and delectable Genevieve Bujold in a yellow tutu.

She's insane. A virgin who believes she's a prostitute. Her madame is also insane, or so the townsmen of Marville believe. But theirs is such a pleasant insanity that we in the audience are persuaded to ask what is sanity and who needs it? Can nerve gas and rat-infested trenches with bloated, rotting bodies be sane?

But hold on there, that last sentence better describes some other anti-war movies from the time of The Great War, perhaps "All Quiet on the Western Front" or Kubrick's "Paths of Glory." Here the tone is light, the treatment burlesque, the plot absurdly amusing.

Bates plays Private Charles Plumpick (in Scottish kilt) a keeper of messenger pigeons who has "volunteered" to find and defuse a bomb left in Marville by the retreating Jerrys. It's set to go off at the stroke of midnight. The townspeople learn of the bomb and desert the town, leaving the inmates at the sanitarium and the circus animals to fend for themselves. So when Plumpick arrives he finds only a detachment of Germans who spot him and chase him into the asylum. Inside as cover he joins a game of cards with two of the inmates. The Jerrys confront the inmates who identify themselves in absurd ways. Plumpick, with some on the spot inspiration, calls himself "the king of hearts."

And so we have our premise. When the Jerrys retreat to the countryside to await the explosion, and while the English watch for the return of one of Plumpick's pigeons with news that the bomb has been defused, the inmates stream out of the asylum. They take over the town, dressing up in various costumes: this one becomes the mayor, another the priest, and little Mademoiselle "Poppy" (Bujold) awaits her first trick.

This the kind of movie that Monty Python fans would adore, and I suspect it had some effect on the directorial style of Terry Gilliam.

Anyway I wrote a little ditty to anticipate the ending (BEWARE SPOILER!):

I'll have no more of war
Such a craven whore!
I will to the asylum go
To be my true love's beau.
April 13, 2008

A True Classic

King of Hearts is an endearing and deeply touching film. It poses the question, "Who's more crazy, delusional patients in a mental institution, or the people who promote and fight wars?" An answer emerges from the chaos of this very funny and profound tale. April 4, 2008

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