La Bonne Annee (Happy New Year)
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Canada
Canada
DVD Cover Information
Actor: André Falcon, Charles Gérard, Françoise Fabian, Lino Ventura, Mireille MathieuDVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 1.0
Format: Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 115 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-08-12
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Image Entertainment
Movie Reviews of La Bonne Annee (Happy New Year)
Movie Review: The quintessential French existential movie
Summary: 5 Stars
When this movie first came out in the 70s, I went to see it repeatedly. Then, when the VHS version came out, I was able to watch it every Christmas. It's the quintessential French existential movie; Ventura's character, Simon, says it all when he asserts to Francoise as she visits him in jail, "But I am a nice guy!" . (In French, "un type bien" means more than "a nice guy", but that'll do). What is perceived as criminal behavior (breaking into a jewelry store) is not a matter of "crime" so much as what a person chooses to do. He might as well have been an ice cream vendor. What counts is a man's honor and integrity. Again, Simon says it all: "There are only two types of people in my world: those that I like, and those that I don't." Legality and morality are not at stake here, but a man's honesty with himself. Again, Simon says it all: "A woman is a man who cries a little; a man is someone who goes all the way." What defines a man is his character.