Absurdity rules in this grotesque tale of a family vendetta. Set in Nice, it portrays three old ladies' attempt to take revenge on the murderers of three of their family members. While they kill them one after another, everyone suspects the investigating police officer to be the fulfiller of the vendetta, since one of the victims was his sisters, and since he of Corsian blood is expected by his colleagues, friends and neighbors to take law into his own hands. Things get even more confused when his wife, committing adultery whenever given the chance, also confuses his softness and dutifulness as a disguise for the killings. Thus, to help him and to regain his respect, she secretly takes part in the killings as well... If taken for nothing more than it is, Hubert Cornfields last film is quite entertaining and funny at times. It's very "french" in it's looks and perfectly fits into the atmosphere of all these very "chabrolian" crime stories from the 70s. Hard to find, probably, but worth a look. Not least for the end credits musical background, a charming chanson on the pleasures of revenge.
3 Reviews
Day of the Fates .
ulicknormanowen4 May 2020
Hubert Cornfied's precedent film "the night of the following day" took place in Brittany (or Normandy ?) ,France : a thriller featuring Marlon Brando ,Richard Boone and Rita Moreno ,with a very unsettling ending ,which was not trendy at the time.
Hubert Cornfield's infatuation with France continued with a French movie in 1976, "les Grands Moyens" from an Exbrayat's novel which sank without a trace.Here the cast was entirely French ,and probably the only one in which eighty-two -year old Hélène Dieudonné got top billing.
A vendetta story,told with a lot of humor : one of the victims is none other than the superintendent 's sister ;in Corsica ,traditions have to be respected :blood cries for vengeance.As a captain cannot break the law, his aunt Basilia , 82,and her two sisters ,both in their eighties ,will play the role of the three Greek Fates ,without him knowing it.And the grannies are rather gifted when it comes to bumping off the five killers ,helped by the nephew's wife ,who thinks that her husband is now a hero and walks out on her lover; everybody in town thinks that the captain is responsible for these mysterious murders and ,much to his displeasure, warmly congratulates and applaudes him .
A little unpretentious comedy , filmed on location , with a good French cast ,with a particularly smart denouement : the younger generation wiill carry on with the good work!
Hubert Cornfield's infatuation with France continued with a French movie in 1976, "les Grands Moyens" from an Exbrayat's novel which sank without a trace.Here the cast was entirely French ,and probably the only one in which eighty-two -year old Hélène Dieudonné got top billing.
A vendetta story,told with a lot of humor : one of the victims is none other than the superintendent 's sister ;in Corsica ,traditions have to be respected :blood cries for vengeance.As a captain cannot break the law, his aunt Basilia , 82,and her two sisters ,both in their eighties ,will play the role of the three Greek Fates ,without him knowing it.And the grannies are rather gifted when it comes to bumping off the five killers ,helped by the nephew's wife ,who thinks that her husband is now a hero and walks out on her lover; everybody in town thinks that the captain is responsible for these mysterious murders and ,much to his displeasure, warmly congratulates and applaudes him .
A little unpretentious comedy , filmed on location , with a good French cast ,with a particularly smart denouement : the younger generation wiill carry on with the good work!
fine mix of thriller and black comedy
myriamlenys17 March 2022
Warning: Spoilers
In "Les grands moyens", three little old ladies turn into vengeful furies in order to decimate the local gangsters who killed several members of their family. Meanwhile their nephew, a police inspector much given to upholding the law, finds himself being mistaken for the perpetrator of these revenge killings. A growing fan club applauds him for being a real Corsican...
"Les grands moyens" boasts a pleasantly intricate and twisty plot, well-drawn characters and oodles of Southern "couleur locale". The performances are good too. The idea of black-clad old dears in lace gloves throwing hand grenades is pretty far-fetched, but somehow the movie strikes the right balance between absurdity and plausibility. The music, which betrays a keen sense of pastiche, adds much to the atmosphere. (Listen to the song at the very beginning, with its honeyed hymn to the beauty of summer woods.)
I had a good time watching this, and if you love the black comedy genre it's likely you'll have a good time too.
"Les grands moyens" boasts a pleasantly intricate and twisty plot, well-drawn characters and oodles of Southern "couleur locale". The performances are good too. The idea of black-clad old dears in lace gloves throwing hand grenades is pretty far-fetched, but somehow the movie strikes the right balance between absurdity and plausibility. The music, which betrays a keen sense of pastiche, adds much to the atmosphere. (Listen to the song at the very beginning, with its honeyed hymn to the beauty of summer woods.)
I had a good time watching this, and if you love the black comedy genre it's likely you'll have a good time too.
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