Stylish, but frustratingly opaque telling of 1930s French ‘confidence’ man Serge Alexandre Stavisky, a Lithuanian Jew who launched himself into high society as ladies’ man, casino & theatre owner and political trader via charm & bribery, funded by a sort of self-dealing Ponzi scheme. Eventually running out of fresh sources of income, he took it all down with him. A fascinating if tricky story to convey, not helped by director Alain Resnais’s disconjunctive technique or by Jorge Semprun’s time-splintered script. You follow enough of the action, but the film winds up working against itself. Maybe it needs a mini-series* or at least more info on the political swings of pre-WWII France. Instead, too much attention on how this is all affecting an exiled Leon Trotsky hanging out near Fontainebleau. As Stavisky, Jean-Paul Belmondo no doubt brought box-office clout, but he’s all wrong for the role. Even the lean cut & narrow sleeves of the period fit poorly. Fun to spot supporting actors in youthful trim (Michael Lonsdale, Gerard Depardieu; though none of the women make much impression). And with an unmissable turn from Charles Boyer as a reactionary Baron who may be the nearest thing to a loyal friend Stavisky had. At 75, the one person in here who knows how to wear a tux and look as comfortable as if he were in pajamas.
DOUBLE-BILL: Hollywood gave this scandal the once-over soon after the event in STOLEN HOLIDAY/’37 with Claude Rains & Kay Francis. *Apparently, there was a mini-series in France: STAVISKY, L'ESCROC DU SIÈCLE/’15.
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