/ Les jambes en l'air / Reviews /

Le Provencal "les jambes en l'air "
     ou "Honni soit qui mal y pense"
Le Méridional "I wanted to overturn received ideas."
Le Figaro Where is César's van going?

    Film director Jean Dewever and actor Georges Géret were in Marseille yesterday to present their film "Les Jambes en l'air". The film was shot in the pinewoods, the rocky inlets and the charming village of Sausset-les-Pins. Here and there too, a few shots of Marseille.

     In short, the Mediterranean is omnipresent in this film which was originally entitled: "César Grandblaise", after the name of the hero, played by Georges Géret.

Why did you choose such a crowd-pleasing title which gives a false idea of the story and the characters?

     Jean Dewever: I felt that the title "César Grandblaise" would make the audience flee or, at least, would not encourage them to come to see the film. The title is admittedly rather provocative. But it won't shock young people, and I think that it's the 18-30 age group who have made this film a success. You're right to say that the story has nothing in common with commercial eroticism.

Several themes are covered.

     J.D.: Yes, there is the marital relationship, the understanding between husband and wife, in a word marital bliss - I am intend on showing that it does exist. We deny it so often. Then there are the relationships between parents and children, individual freedom and finally, friendship.

If you had to define your film, what would you say?

     J.D.: It's "la joie de vivre", with no pre-established constraints, no moral taboos.

And it is very moral…

    J.D.: Morality in amorality, as they say (he laughs). To come back to my title, I wasn't trying to make it distinguished. Life is not distinguished and one can get very bored in a "Home and Garden"-style house.

Georges Géret, as likeable and natural as ever, likes his role in this film because it enabled him to break away from the tough guys and baddies he usually plays.

     Georges Géret: It's all because of my physique and the way I speak! In fact, I'm very soft-hearted (he speaks with the air of a friendly tamed bear). This film was made by a group of friends in a super atmosphere; the people of Sausset-les-Pins were just wonderful. They made the shoot much easier for us. They are from the Midi, that says it all!

Géret knows what he's talking about: he divides his time between homes in Paris and Nice, and he's one of the most assiduous petanque players in Saint-Paul-de Vence.

Riou Rouvet.
Le Provençal, July 28, 1971

"Having made his first film "Les Honneurs de la Guerre" ten years ago, Jean Dewever is making his comeback, once again behind the camera, with a second film, "Les Jambes en l'air", based on a screenplay by Jean-Charles Tacchella. The original title "César Grandblaise" was less evocative, but no doubt more honest. This film is in no way erotic or even risqué; indeed, it is rather optimistic, in a way it's an ode to happiness.

So why this title "Les Jambes en l'air"? Jean Dewever provides the following explanation: "I wanted to overturn received ideas, and this expression is exactly that, a received idea."

François Esposito
Le Méridional du 28 juillet 1971.

Jean Dewever and Jean-Charles Tacchella - the television has just shown their last film 'Les Honneurs de la Guerre' - fled from Paris to their village in Provence to write 'César Grandblaise'. "César is a happy man," says Dewever, "but things sometimes happen to happy people, and we intend to tell these adventures at a fast, modern pace."

Le Figaro, May 21, 1970.