Boudo Saved from Drowning

1932 Renoir comedy

Rating: 16/20

Plot: The titular ragamuffin decides to jump into the river and end it all, presumably because rude Frenchmen won't stop laughing at his beard. Middle-class bookseller Listingois spots the suicide attempt from his window and runs to the river, dives in, and saves Boudo from drowning. That's where they get the title for the movie! Boudo turns out to be a pest, a filthy and crude house guest who ends up making life miserable in the Listingois household. Oh, snap! Lesson learned, Monsier Listingois: Don't invite a dirty hippie into your home.

Cool little comedy which stands up surprisingly well for a movie nearly eighty years old. Maybe it's because it's in French. There's very little flare though Renoir's direction is still unspectacularily great, assured and confident. I really liked the character and Michel Simon's performance as Priape Boudo. Priape? Yes, the randy bum did play on the name, alluding to the Greek fertility god Priapus who is known for his gigantic permanent erection. Something about Michel Simon reminded me of Will Ferrell, never a good thing really, and I imagine Ferrell could easily pull off this type of character in a reimagining of the story. Or maybe he could just jump off a bridge? I didn't really understand the satiric elements of Boudo, likely because I don't live in France in the 1930s, but I still really enjoyed this amusing little tale.