Fresh
A beautifully rhythmed film that makes one nostalgic for the period when it was made.
Pauline Kael, New Yorker
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Boudu Saved from Drowning
Overview
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.
Director and cast
- Jean Renoir Director
- Michel Simon as Priape Boudu
- Marcelle Hainia as Emma Lestingois
- Sévérine Lerczinska as Chloë Anne Marie, la bonne
- Jean Gehret as Vigour
- Max Dalban as Godin
- Jean Dasté as L'étudiant
- Charles Granval as Édouard Lestingois
- Geneviève Cadix Cast
- Jacques Becker Cast
- Georges D'Arnoux Cast
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
100%
Tomatometer
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
Fresh
The most startling thing about Boudu is just how incredibly fresh it remains.
Wally Hammond, Time Out
Fresh
Jean Renoir's effortless 1932 masterpiece is as informal, beguiling, and subversive as its eponymous hero.
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
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