Louis de Funes is considered the king of French comics! And among his performances that have gone down in the annals is that of Hibernatus, especially in the final scene, which still looms large in the hearts of his admirers as one of his greatest moments. And even if it’s not his best film according to AlloCiné viewers, he achieves the perfect act of improvisation!
TFX will air the 1969 comedy directed by Edouard Molinaro (an Oscar winner with de Funes) and also starring Claude Gensack, Michael Lonsdale, Bernard Allan, Paul Preboist, Claude. Pieplu, Jacques Legras and Olivier de Funes!
To remind you, the film tells how the great entrepreneur Hubert de Tartas, who manages his wife’s grandfather, who has the appearance of a young man after a natural hibernation in a block of ice, finds himself. Problem for de Tartas, this “young grandfather” is the rightful heir to his wife’s estate and Hubert could take away his power!
If Hibernatus is somewhat of a hybrid film, alternating pure vaudeville scenes (it is adapted from a play) with action scenes and stunts that weigh down the story a bit. Despite everything, he is unstoppable, thanks to the presence of De Funes and the actors who surround him and allow him to give free rein to his talents.
Those who have seen Hibernatus will especially remember the closing sequence, in which Hubert de Tartas (De Funès) rudely explains to his grandfather everything he missed after hibernation in 1905. Hubert’s frustration with the tartas that has accumulated over the course of the film explodes, beyond belief. scene!
During filming, this moment of pure madness was difficult for everyone, but especially for de Funes, who first tried several improvisational scenes, but eventually gave up. Two days later, he returned and, again in several takes, presented the performance we see today in the finished film, where nothing was written:
Although he sometimes seemed somewhat withdrawn and “in his own world” on set, Louis de Funes gave his all on set and it shows in this scene, as if he was sure that this was his last film and that it would be the 1970s. Watch his success decline. His character Hibernatus ends up frozen, as if he wanted to stay at the top level forever.
When it was released, Hibernatus made 3.3 million admissions, still half of what Le Gendarme se marie had released the year before, and barely better than Le Tatoué, which pitted it against Jean Gabin (3.2 million ‘inserts). A small batch for De Funès, who is more used to 5 million per film.
That said, the 1970s would prove to be less favorable for him than he imagined, with Rabi Jacob earning nearly 7.3 million and L’Aile ou la 5.8 million. Until the last film, Le Gendarme et les Gandarmettes, de Funes remained at the box office, as he reached 4.2 million tickets sold in the form of his last adventure colleagues.
Source: Allocine
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
