King Of Hearts (1967)

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

King of Hearts

I originally saw this movie at a film festival back in the 80's. I was so happy to find it in DVD form. This movie really touched me both emotionally and philosophically. There is much symbolism in this so I wouldn't recommend for people who don't like that type of thing. It is also subtitled for only about half the movie. Most of this movie is a visual and thinking movie. It is uplifting and heartbreaking at the same time and has that foreign humor. If this is what you like I highly recommend this movie. It is a classic. February 20, 2008

King of Hearts: The message is in the madness.

Let me add my voice to the chorus of reviews singing praise for Philippe de Broca's King of Hearts (Le Roi de Coeur). After apprenticing with legendary French film directors Henri Decoin, Claude Chabrol, and François Truffaut, de Broca made eight or nine films in the early Sixties before receiving international acclaim for his 1966 anti-war cult classic, King of Hearts. Set in the small French village of Marville near the end of World War I, the delightfully sweet film explores the insanity of war as Charles Plumpick (Alan Bates), a Clouseau-like Scottish soldier is sent to defuse a bomb left by the retreating German army to annihilate the town. Upon entering the abandoned village, Plumpick unknowingly leaves the door to the insane asylum open, allowing all of the patients leave the asylum and occupy the town. The bewildered soldier then falls for one of the patients, Coquelicot (Geneviève Bujold). As Plumpick attempts to find and disarm the bomb before it destroys their village, the lunatics coronate him their "King of Hearts." Upon its theatrical release the film became an instant hit with the anti-Vietnam war audience, and it's anti-war message remains relevant today.

G. Merritt February 10, 2008

More reviews at Amazon.com ...