“You are a synthesis”: a line spoken by Bernard Blier 54 years ago is enough to put everyone at ease

An unstoppable punchline in Matt Damon’s Will Hunting, an inspirational sentence uttered by Tom Hanks in Forrest Gump or even an essential line delivered by Danny Glover in the Lethal Weapon saga…

Cinema has always been shaped by images, sounds and movements, but since it began to speak, it has also played with words. Meticulously selected, skilfully interwoven by talented screenwriters and generously delivered by great actors, the dialogues of the Seventh Art have sometimes left a mark on people’s minds and lasted for centuries.

Michel Audiard, goldsmith of dialogue

Michel Audiard, famous in this field, is among the greatest linguistic masters of French cinema. A few weeks ago we mentioned one of his most famous lines, uttered by Bernard Blier in Les Tontons Flingueurs, by George Lautner: “C***s dare anything, even we dare admit it.”

But let’s focus on another punchline today, written by the same writer and performed by the same actor, in comedy he doesn’t drink, smoke, flirt, but…talks!

Written but also directed by Michel Audiard in 1970, the film follows the adventures of Germaine, a cleaning lady played by Annie Girardot, who manages to discover the deepest secrets of her three clients and arrange a triple game of blackmail between them.

The line we’re interested in here, delivered by Alexandre Lietard (Bernard Blier) to Phallempen (Sim), has survived the test of time to appear in most of Audiard’s Best Lines videos. . It’s also quite possible that you’ve already heard it tossed around, in conversation between friends, or mentioned by a know-it-all who wanted to silence a hypocritical interlocutor.

“I’ve seen fake asses before, but you’re synthetic.”

In Audiar’s film, we can hear Simi trying to justify herself to Bernard Blyer, whom she reluctantly extorts money from (according to her).

“I am ashamed of this money, if it were not for my dear little ones…”He explains with a bemused look.

That’s when Blier responds with 10 small words that will remain in the memory of the audience:

“I’ve seen fake asses before, but you’re synthetic.”

Simple, subtle and perfectly composed, this now legendary little phrase is as funny as it is effective. Drawn judiciously at the right time and in the right context, it’s sure to have its own little effect, whether you’re surrounded by Michel Audiard fans or not.

(Re)discover the trailer for “Tontons flingueurs”…