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IMDbPro

Pardon Mon Affaire

Original title: Un éléphant ça trompe énormément
  • 1976
  • PG
  • 1h 45m
IMDb RATING
6.9/10
2.6K
YOUR RATING
Guy Bedos, Claude Brasseur, Danièle Delorme, Anny Duperey, Victor Lanoux, and Jean Rochefort in Pardon Mon Affaire (1976)
Watch Bande-annonce [OV]
Play trailer2:44
1 Video
16 Photos
ComedyRomance

As loyal as a dove, a family man is about to tell his first lie to his wife when he falls for an enchanting woman in a billowy red dress. With a bit of help, he just might get what he wishes... Read allAs loyal as a dove, a family man is about to tell his first lie to his wife when he falls for an enchanting woman in a billowy red dress. With a bit of help, he just might get what he wishes for; however, is love always a bed of roses?As loyal as a dove, a family man is about to tell his first lie to his wife when he falls for an enchanting woman in a billowy red dress. With a bit of help, he just might get what he wishes for; however, is love always a bed of roses?

  • Director
    • Yves Robert
  • Writers
    • Jean-Loup Dabadie
    • Yves Robert
  • Stars
    • Jean Rochefort
    • Claude Brasseur
    • Guy Bedos
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.9/10
    2.6K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Yves Robert
    • Writers
      • Jean-Loup Dabadie
      • Yves Robert
    • Stars
      • Jean Rochefort
      • Claude Brasseur
      • Guy Bedos
    • 10User reviews
    • 14Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win & 3 nominations total

    Videos1

    Bande-annonce [OV]
    Trailer 2:44
    Bande-annonce [OV]

    Photos16

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    Top cast34

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    Jean Rochefort
    Jean Rochefort
    • Étienne
    Claude Brasseur
    Claude Brasseur
    • Daniel
    Guy Bedos
    Guy Bedos
    • Simon
    Victor Lanoux
    Victor Lanoux
    • Bouly
    Danièle Delorme
    Danièle Delorme
    • Marthe Dorsay
    Anny Duperey
    Anny Duperey
    • Charlotte
    Marthe Villalonga
    Marthe Villalonga
    • Mouchy Messina
    Louise Conte
    • Marraine
    Maurice Bénichou
    Maurice Bénichou
    • Gonthier
    Christophe Bourseiller
    Christophe Bourseiller
    • Lucien
    • (as Christophe Bruce)
    Jean Lescot
    Jean Lescot
    • Le patient inquiet
    Martine Sarcey
    • Esperanza
    Catherine Verlor
    Catherine Verlor
    • Stéphanie
    Pascale Reynaud
    • Delphine
    Richard Saint-Bris
    • Charles
    • (as Richard Saint Bris)
    Jean Lanier
    • Deschanels
    Anne-Marie Blot
    • Marie-Ange
    Hélène Calzarelli
    • Mlle Pintard
    • Director
      • Yves Robert
    • Writers
      • Jean-Loup Dabadie
      • Yves Robert
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews10

    6.92.6K
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    Featured reviews

    dbdumonteil

    The adults are big kids.

    Yves Robert's best works are those which deal with children :"la guerre des boutons" "la Gloire de mon Père" and its follow-up "le château de ma mère"."Un éléphant" is not as good as the three movies I mention above.But what connects it to his three wonderful films is that its four heroes have not really grown up.Claude Brasseur 's way of pitting the olives is a schoolboy 's joke!We can also credit Robert for introducing a gay character (Brasseur) while avoiding the usual clichés.Brasseur portrays a man like all the other ones.We'd never guess he is gay if we were not told it so.On the other hand,the female parts are not very interesting:Daniele Delorme -who was Robert's wife and her co-producer-was better in the fifties when she was directed by Duvivier and the attractive Duperrey is nothing but a mirage .And Guy Bedos 's mother is a calamity ,for Marthe Villalonga is ham-acting flesh on the bone.

    The movie was so successful that there was a sequel ("Nous irons tous au Paradis' ) and an American remake ("the woman in red")
    7PeterJackson

    French films can be funny

    Etienne(Jean Rochefort)is a happily married man and a good father. His friends all have secret affairs and/or cheat on their wives. One morning, Etienne sees a woman in red passing by his car. He falls in love with her and tries everything to get to know her better. Of course, this must be kept a secret to his wife.

    Whereas the story may not be very original, this film is extremely charming and amiable nonetheless. It has a great supporting cast(Brasseur is a stand-out), very funny moments and many real-life characters. Too bad this charming little film was later remade as THE WOMAN IN RED(with Gene Wilder and Kelly LeBrock). But Hollywood seems to have this "urge" to make their own version of each film with a bit of success outside the States. Anyway, if you have to choose between the original and the remake, choose UN ÉLEPHANT...(or PARDON MON AFFAIRE as it is sometimes called). 7/10
    michelerealini

    Originals are always better than remakes

    This Yves Robert's film gave Gene Wilder the idea for a US remake ("The Woman in red"). But the latter doesn't have neither the freshness nor the simplicity of the French version.

    As a European, I feel myself better at ease with the Robert's movie because it is nearer to my culture -and the fact that actors and action are set in Paris make easier for me to understand the way characters think...

    It's doubtless a French comedy, with a perfect actor for this kind of work -Jean Rochefort, who portrays a typical French "bourgeois", awkward, shy and proud of his social position at the same time. A frustrated male of Latin culture...!

    Etienne (Rochefort) falls in love with a sexy woman he meets in his bureau. This woman is then chosen for an advertisement... He will do everything for conquering her, unless telling it his wife. The film is a joke about men erotically fantasies.

    The film is witty, charming and well written. Whereas Italian comedies play mostly with satire, strange comical faces and misunderstandings, French comedies are less caricature, they present "clownesques" situations in (appearently) more serious environments. Two excellent comical approaches! They're so different from American comical movies -in American comedies there's more mess, you laugh because situations are so incredible and full of contradictions.

    This film is worth to see, Jean Rochefort is funny even if he seems serious. When I saw the Gene Wilder movie I didn't enjoy so much -Wilder is an excellent actor, but his "Woman in red" had something quite artificial.. It was not as spontaneous like the original one. Wilder is better with his extravaganzas, with slapstick elements...
    2eatinglovepies

    Another terrible middle age man extra marital affair movie

    The movie was only funny for the first 30 mins with the mixed up. Way too long and predictable, only about 10 mins worth of story stretched into almost 2 hours.
    8sgendron

    When four guys meet...

    This truly funny and very well written - by Dabadie - comedy directed by Yves Robert is certainly one of the funniest movies I've ever seen. It is also one that I enjoy seeing again and again.

    Where the pretext for the story is really just what it is - a pretext - the most interesting part is the relationships that fuels the friendship between four men entangled in very difficult "rapport" with women. The funniest one certainly being the mother-son relationship that is in fact a true love story, that goes on between Guy Bedos and Marthe Villalonga. The scenes between those two are real anthology pieces.

    The secondary roles are also very attaching, particularly the one held by Christophe Bourseiller.

    All in all, this "coup de foudre" turned bad, told in voice over with amazing wit and elegance by Jean Rochefort is a classic that stands alone in the face of very mediocre French comedies.

    The sequel - Nous irons tous au paradis - is also very enjoyable.

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    Storyline

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    • Connections
      Featured in Empreintes: Brasseur, père et fils (2011)

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    FAQ16

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 22, 1976 (France)
    • Country of origin
      • France
    • Official site
      • Official site (France)
    • Languages
      • French
      • English
    • Also known as
      • An Elephant Can Be Extremely Deceptive
    • Filming locations
      • 10 Avenue de la Grande Armée, Paris 17, Paris, France(exteriors: Etienne on the balcony)
    • Production companies
      • Gaumont International
      • Les Productions de la Guéville
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 45 minutes
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.66 : 1

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    Guy Bedos, Claude Brasseur, Danièle Delorme, Anny Duperey, Victor Lanoux, and Jean Rochefort in Pardon Mon Affaire (1976)
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