‘L’animal‘, made in 1977, is a film shrouded in stardust. The director is Claude Zidi, one of the most famous French authors of popular comedies, who is also the co-author of the screenplay whose dialogues are written by the legendary Michel Audiard. The music is composed by Vladimir Cosma and the cast includes famous actors and a director in cameo roles. The main attraction, however, was the presence in the main roles of Jean-Paul Belmondo and Raquel Welch. This was then, and is still today, the main reason why it is worth watching or re-watching ‘L’animal‘.
We are dealing with a film about people who make films, proof that not only in Hollywood are filmmakers in love and fascinated by their own profession. Mike and Jane are a pair of stunt doubles for Johnny Hallyday and Jane Birkin in a film by Claude Chabrol. They are scheduled to be married at noon, which leaves them enough time for a car stunt at 10AM. The car’s brakes fail and the day ends in the hospital, with the two in casts and bandages. Jane, furious, says NO to the mayor brought to the hospital to officiate the marriage. A few months later, Jane has found a wealthy aristocrat who would like to marry her while Mike has not given up on persuading Jane to marry him, but in the absence of work he is forced to defraud welfare by claiming that has seven children (or maybe nine) and to dress up as a gorilla for supermarket adverts. The two’s chance comes when their services are requested for a film starring Bruno Ferrari, a star who claims to perform his own stunts. In reality, not only does he suffer from vertigo, but he’s also gay. The troubles only start here.
Belmondo‘s admirers cannot miss the opportunity to see their idol again in a sparkling double role, with a fearful and gay actor as one of the appearances. Raquel Welch is brilliantly sexy and very likable. The two carry the film, which otherwise has a rather banal plot, in which the biggest surprise is that there are no surprises. However, there is one more important aspect that cannot be omitted. Unlike the film’s hero, Belmondo actually was performing most of his stunts himself, and he did so in ‘L’animal‘, in which he fulfilled one of his childhood dreams – making a scene where he stands on the wings of an airplane in flight. No insurance company agreed to insure him for this scene. He did it at his own peril, and we have it captured as it happened on film. Another reason not to bypass it.