Cast
What it is about
In Arles, Marc-Antoine drives a garbage truck and lives a quiet life with his wife, Mélanie, and their two children. When the mascot of the local petanque club is stolen, his suggestion to paint a replacement makes him an unexpected local celebrity. His sudden fame arrives as quickly as it feels strange to him, and the people around him watch the change with skepticism. The comedy follows a plain man facing unexpected success and the question of what truly matters to him.
How it was made
Cocagne is a French-Italian co-production directed by Maurice Cloche, with Fernandel in the lead, alongside Dora Doll and Leda Gloria. It was shot at the Billancourt Studios in Paris, with location work in Arles and the Camargue, which gives the story its Provençal setting. Art director Jacques Paris designed the sets. The cast also includes Andrex, Edmond Ardisson, Memmo Carotenuto and Léon Zitrone, who appears as himself.
Reception and legacy
Cocagne is a popular comedy that sits within the long career of Fernandel, one of the leading comic actors of French cinema at the time. Today it is mainly of interest for its gentle portrait of provincial life in southern France and for its central character. It is not a landmark in the director's filmography, though it belongs to the French comedy output of the early 1960s.
Stills
More films by Maurice Cloche
Monsieur Vincent
The Bread Peddler
The Killer Likes Candy
Born of Unknown Father
The Ladies in the Green HatsOriginal Cinematopedia text based on Wikipedia (en) and Wikidata.