GET OUT YOUR HANDKERCHIEFS   1978
(Préparez vos mouchoirs)
Directed by Bertrand Blier
106 minutes
In French with English subtitles

My God, how did this film ever win the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film back in the 70s, when it covers subjects which would never be possible even today? Times have changed, and in some ways we have only become more conservative and uptight. This flick helps us loosen up and relax. On the surface a civilized satire, but its narrative is so bizarre and unexpected, it becomes utterly subversive.
What's the setup of the story? Solange is depressed: she's stopped smiling, she eats little, she barely speaks. She has fainting spells. Her husband Raoul (Gérard Depardieu) is concerned about her well-being so his solution to her woes is to talk another man (Patrick Dewaere), a complete stranger, into becoming her lover. But when that doesn't really work either, the three of them set off on an adventure to seek another possibility.

A film which shocked audiences upon its original release, it would grow to become one of the most talked about French films for the next decade. It's a film full of sly humor and acid wit, a comedy that is both sentimental and sarcastic at the same time. This cinematic treasure was concocted by one of our favorite directors in these alternative cinemas - the wild and imaginative Bertrand Blier.

As one viewer said "A light as a feather ode to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, with little regard to social mores or laws.."

This will be a high-definition screening.