What makes this film interesting is not as much the satirical view on the media society of today as the mysterious character of Chance the gardener and the way Peter Sellers interprets it. The strange thing is that we never learn who his mother and father are and how he happened to be in his bosses garden all his life. We're just given the assumption that he never saw the world except through television. This is hard to believe but Peter Sellers' performance makes us forget about logic. He manages a stunning mix of being a wise old man and a mentally retarded child. Scenes where he tries to convert his TV experiences into reality or thinks he can just switch the channel in an unpleasant situation are cute on the one hand and hurt a little on the other.
The film lives because of Sellers and because of the secrets around him. There is a comical effect through the fact that Chance is kind of an elderly Kaspar Hauser but wears the best evening clothes from the best tailors. The story itself is not too convincing, unfortunately. The ending may seem disappointing at first sight, but in reality it's consequent. The film ends like it begins: with open questions.
The film lives because of Sellers and because of the secrets around him. There is a comical effect through the fact that Chance is kind of an elderly Kaspar Hauser but wears the best evening clothes from the best tailors. The story itself is not too convincing, unfortunately. The ending may seem disappointing at first sight, but in reality it's consequent. The film ends like it begins: with open questions.