We’ll show the wonderful “La Grande vadrouille” at the monochrom space/MQ on Sunday, February 19, 8 PM.
Franz Ablinger will held a lecture.

During World War II… When their combat aircraft is shot down by the Germans, three English airmen parachute to the comparative safety of Nazi occupied France. One lands on the scaffold of an amiable painter and decorator, Augustin. Another lands on top of a concert hall and is rescued by the irascible but patriotic conductor Stanislas Lefort. The third ends up in the otter enclosure in a Parisian zoo. When they try to help the airmen keep a rendez-vous at the Turkish baths in Paris, Augustin and Stanislas quickly find that they themselves have become targets for the German soldiers. Assisted by the daughter of a puppeteer and an anti-German nun, the two unwilling heroes accompany the three airman on a reckless trek across France towards the neutral zone and safety.

La Grande vadrouille is one of the great comic achievements of French cinema. A magnificent action comedy, it had until very recently the distinction of being the most popular film ever shown in France. Its box office sale of 17 million tickets has only recently been topped by the 1997 American blockbuster Titanic. Even today, its airings on French television attract stupendous audience figures. The phenomenal success of the film is a remarkable achievement given that the film makes light of one of the most unfortunate periods of French history.