Michel Simon gives one of the most memorable performances in screen history as Boudu, a Parisian tramp who takes a suicidal plunge into the Seine and is rescued by a well-to-do bookseller, Edouard Lestingois. The Lestingois family decides to take in the irrepressible bum, and he shows his gratitude by shaking the household to its foundations. With Boudu Saved from Drowning, legendary director Jean Renoir takes advantage of a host of Parisian locations and the anarchic charms of his lead actor to create an effervescent satire of the bourgeoisie.
A beautifully rhythmed film that makes one nostalgic for the period when it was made.
– Pauline Kael,
New Yorker,
29 Aug 2012
fresh:
Amid the early-talkie crudeness you can see Renoir discover what it means to visually evoke the unpredictable flow of life with composition, movement, and depth.
– Michael Atkinson,
Village Voice,
9 May 2007
fresh:
The most startling thing about Boudu is just how incredibly fresh it remains.
– Wally Hammond,
Time Out,
9 Feb 2006
fresh:
Jean Renoir's effortless 1932 masterpiece is as informal, beguiling, and subversive as its eponymous hero.