Le Bonheur [Happiness] **** (1965, Jean-Claude Drouot, Marie-France Boyer, Claire Drouot) – Classic Movie Review 4307

Agnès Varda’s 1965 French film Le Bonheur [Happiness] tells the story of a happy carpenter (Jean-Claude Drouot) with a wife (Claire Drouot) and a mistress (Marie-France Boyer), both of whom he loves.

Writer-director Agnès Varda’s 1965 French New Wave drama film Le Bonheur [Happiness] tells the story of François (Jean-Claude Drouot), a happy French carpenter with a wife Thérèse (Claire Drouot) and a mistress, their young employee Émilie (Marie-France Boyer), both of whom he loves.

When his wife finds out, she commits suicide by drowning, and François happily marries the mistress instead, finding exactly the same time of wedded bliss he had before, living with her and his two children (Sandrine Drouot, Olivier Drouot).

Varda’s film concerns a clever, offbeat and disturbingly ambiguous scenario, attractively filmed and beautifully shot by cinematographer Jean Rabier. It is certainly powerful and good enough to be disturbing and make you feel uncomfortable, particularly with the star’s entire family involved.

Le Bonheur was, and still is, greatly admired, as an iconic French New Wave classic, and the winner of the 1964 Prix Louis Delluc [Louis Delluc Prize] for Best Film and the winner of the Special Jury Prize at the 15th Berlin International Film Festival in 1965. Incidentally, that year the Berlin Golden Bear was awarded to another French film, Alphaville, directed by Jean-Luc Godard.

François’s wife and children are played by Jean-Claude Drouot’s real-life family in their only film appearances.

Born on 30 May 1928 in Brussels, Agnès Varda is known for The Beaches of Agnès (2008), The Gleaners & I (2000) and Cleo from 5 to 7 (1962). She was married to director Jacques Demy (Lola, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg) from 1962 until his death in 1990.

Agnès Varda died from cancer on 29 March 2019 in Paris, at the age of 90.

The cast are Jean-Claude Drouot as François, Claire Drouot as Thérèse, Olivier Drouot as Pierrot, Sandrine Drouot as Gisou, Marie-Fr.ance Boyer as Émilie Savignac, Marcelle Faure-Bertin, Manon Lanclos, Sylvia Saurel, Marc Eyraud, Christian Riehl, and Paul Vecchiali as Paul.

French filmmaker and author Paul Vecchiali (born on 28 April 1930) died in Paris on 18 January 2023, at the age of 92. He directed La Machine (1977), Corps à cœur (1978), That’s Life (C’est la vie) (1981), At the Top of the Stairs (1983), Rosa la rose, fille publique (1985), Encore / Once More (1988) and Le Cancre (2016).

© Derek Winnert 2016 Classic Movie Review 4307

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