Age-Friendly Carbondale will screen “King of Hearts” at the Crystal Theatre as a fundraiser on June 27 at 3pm. Discounted tickets are available for seniors. Find details at crystaltheatrecarbondale.com
“Le Roi de cœur” — “King of Hearts” — is a 1966 Anglo-French comedy-
drama directed by Philippe de Broca. Set during the final days of World War I,
the story unfolds in a small, picturesque French town called Marville. In an effort to hinder the advance of a Scottish regiment, retreating German forces have planted their remaining munitions in the town square, set to detonate at the stroke of midnight when a mechanical knight in armor strikes the bell in the church’s imposing clock tower.
Alerted to their plot, the buffoonish British commanding officer (Adolfo Celi) orders Private Plumpick (Alan Bates) to march on ahead and defuse the bomb. Plumpick, whose job it is to look after the regiment’s carrier pigeons, is hopelessly underqualified for the task. When he reaches Marville he is pursued by a small group of remaining German soldiers and seeks refuge in a psychiatric hospital seemingly forgotten by the invaders. The Germans soon abandon their search and Plumpick returns to the deserted town streets with a colorful cohort of mental patients in tow.
Blissfully unaware of the war, the band of former inmates assume the roles of the departed citizens. Donning flamboyant costumes abandoned by their former owners, they dress up as barbers, shopkeepers, priests and aristocrats. The town at once regains its joie de vivre and an air of charming and care-free quirkiness, rendered even more so by the addition of several circus animals.
Confused by his surroundings after a knock on the head, Plumpick is crowned “King of Hearts” by the escaped lunatics. His plush coronation coach is pulled by a camel in a ceremony full of pomp, music and wackadoo festivities. In a surreal twist, the coronation turns into a mock funeral. Attracted by his kindness and apparent sanity amidst a world of violence, Coquelicot (Geneviève Bujold), a beautiful young French woman, falls in love with Plumpick. Shaking off his befuddlement, he dispatches two carrier pigeons (one of which is intercepted by the Germans) with the message: “Wrong town. Inhabitants odd.” Upon receipt of this, Colonel McBibenbrook assumes that Plumpick has lost his mind and is perhaps a German spy. Both Scottish and German soldiers march on Marville and with the clock ticking on the bomb the scene is set for a final showdown.
“King of Hearts” is a cult classic. Absurdity reigns supreme. In one delightful scene, Coquelicot walks a tightrope across the town in a canary yellow tutu with matching parasol. The comical German tanks look as though they were constructed from cardboard, music and dance (particularly “La Polka”) are employed to settle disputes, and there is a farcical bedroom scene set in the street.
The movie is a seductive and joyous series of street celebrations. There is plenty of clowning; in scenes reminiscent of Charlie Chaplin and Norman Wisdom movies, Plumpick dashes around Marville first in a kilt, then in a black suit and white shoes. For a 1966 production, some of the stunts are genuinely impressive. It is easy to see the influences of vintage Monty Python sketches and the UK TV series parodying the Home Guard, “Dad’s Army.” Bates is dashing as Plumpick and is not shy to bare his bum, a portent perhaps for the infamous naked wrestling scene with Oliver Reed in the 1969 movie “Women in Love.” The French are depicted as stylish, fun-loving and flirtatious.
I really enjoyed this movie. Hailed as a pacifist work, “King of Hearts” shines a spotlight on the absurdity of war and underscores the power of humor in the face of adversity. When asked in one scene what he desires, Pumpnick replies, “To lose my memory.”
The film builds toward a devastating climax; soldiers from both sides arrive and engage in a bizarre shootout in the town square while the asylum patients watch in bewilderment from windows and rooftops. The audience is left to question who the nutters really are: those who wage war and kill one another for no discernible reason, or the frivolous rejoicing lunatics. As one patient returning to the asylum observes: “The most beautiful journeys are taken through the window.”