Tacticalin An absolute waste of money
Kailansorac Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.
TaryBiggBall It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.
Derry Herrera Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.
Gizmo As others have mentioned here, the films of Sacha Guitry seem to have sunk into oblivion in the English speaking world, which is odd since at their best they share much of the same quality and charm as those of Ernst Lubitsch or Max Ophuls, both of whom are still spoken of with deserved reverence.This one might be the most well known of his films, for what that's worth, and is a similar story to Lubitsch's wildly overpraised but markedly inferior 'Heaven Can Wait' - the memoirs of an old rogue's misspent youth. It's a boon that Guitry, working outside of Hollywood censorship, could be much more frank about what his rogue actually got up to - the great weakness of Lubitsch's later film.Much of this film is in fact silent, with Guitry's witty narration being the only speech. There is an excellent performance by Serge Grave as the young Cheat. The best scene is the one where the old Guitry runs into the now elderly Countess whose younger charms he has just been fondly reminiscing over. His discomfort is hilarious.This is not my favourite of Guitry's films - that would still be La Poison - but it's a patchy and a whimsical delight nonetheless. And really, I'm just glad to have discovered all of them.
richard-1787 This movie is really only for Sacha Guitry fanatics. It is basically one long monologue delivered by the narrator, Guitry. We see various characters, but they almost never speak. It is as if we were watching a silent movie to which someone had added a narrative voice track.Yes, some of that narration is mildly clever, and Guitry certainly knows how to deliver his own lines. But the plot is uninteresting, the script only ingly clever.This is very inferior to Guitry movies like Les Perles de la couronne.If you like Guitry's sardonic humor, you will get some pleasure out of this movie. Other than that, I don't see much of an audience for it. I myself will have forgotten it by tomorrow.----------------------------Two years after writing the above review, I've rewatched the movie, and I find that I still agree with what I wrote then. The whole movie is a monologue, with only occasionally funny lines. It all hangs on the sound of Guitry's voice and his delivery of his lines. Yes, he was very good at delivering his own texts. But an 80-minute monologue, and not a particularly clever one, is too much to ask of the power of his delivery or the patience of the audience. Again, really for die-hard Guitry aficionados only.
Boba_Fett1138 This is a rather interesting and originally told movie. It focuses on the life of a charming scoundrel. It doesn't sound that interesting or original but its originality also really is more in the way the movie is being told. It's shot with actual little dialog on it and instead features a witty voice-over (by director/writer/main actor Sacha Guitry himself), who tells the story in an amusing way with a pleasant pace.The movie not just begins with an introduction of the main characters but also that of some of the crew who were involved with this movie. This already sorts of sets the tone for the rest of the movie. It's a very original and unique little movie, that due to its style and atmosphere also definitely as an highly entertaining one to watch. I wouldn't exactly call the style surrealistic and absurdism is perhaps a better word to describe the movie its style and pleasant, often subtle, comedy.Its style always keeps the movie going and also makes this one of the faster paced movies from the '30's. It's also a reason why the movie is actually quite short, with its about 80 minutes of running time. Even though the movie basically covers the entire life span of a person, it's over before you know it.You'll surely have a good time watching this very pleasant and highly original little film.10/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/
dbdumonteil I can only approve of my old pal Writer's Reign 's opinion ,who for a change wrote the very first comment."Le Roman d'un Tricheur" is an unique work ,which tends to make a reductio ab absurdum : what 's the point of being honest if honest people are chastised.So much for the prelims: a young boy was born a very big family :12 persons in all;as he had stolen some money,he was punished and deprived of mushrooms! But they were poisonous mushrooms and the whole family but the naughty brat went to their grave .So what's the point of being honest? The whole story is told by a voice over;the form was totally new since the actors did not act ,they just mimed ,like some kind of tableaux vivants.The only scenes (two) where you find a real dialog are the ones between the hero (Guitry ,of course) and Marguerite Moreno's countess.This is a short film (barely 80 min) but Guitry 's story is dense and includes an attempt against the life of Russian tsar Nicolas the Second , a lesson of geography about Monaco , a trip to the casinos (royale or not)where the hero tries his luck with mixed results , WW1,a sneak thief -whose methods would make Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie ire the lady-,and more ...Guitry was often criticized in ;they said he had an unbearable ego .Completely true:that's what made his movies so exciting.
