The septuagenarian Parisian plastic surgeon, Michel Des Assantes, has had it! In spite of all the sexual gratification he gets right in his office, he wants to get away from it all. The idea of a trip to Timbuktu, a remote and mythical place, gets this doctor's fluids going again. It is close to the end of 1999 with all the fears that pundits expected as the new century arrived.
Michel's trip is interrupted in a small town near Valencia, Spain, near the Mediterranean coast, where he arrives after a road accident. In the village, Michel finds all kinds of nuts and even anarchists, that want to give the older man an experience like he never knew. His reactions toward the town and its inhabitants help the doctor make is final decision, commit suicide before the arrival of the millennium.
Luis Garcia Berlanga was almost eighty when he directed this film. The screenplay seems to be the case of too many cooks trying to make a paella, resulting in an uneven film that will not add anything to the man that was one of the most innovative forces in the cinema of his country. Even Mr. Garcia Berlanga's direction leaves the many characters in the movie to their own devices, as emoting is general. The film is a mix of styles that does not make much sense. In a change of pace, male nudity, something directors and actors try to stay away from, is shown throughout the film, but make no mistake, it plays well within the context of the movie.
Michel Piccoli, a giant in the French cinema looks old and tired. His plastic surgeon doctor shows he is going fast into an early senility. The rest of the Spanish cast have done better before.
Michel's trip is interrupted in a small town near Valencia, Spain, near the Mediterranean coast, where he arrives after a road accident. In the village, Michel finds all kinds of nuts and even anarchists, that want to give the older man an experience like he never knew. His reactions toward the town and its inhabitants help the doctor make is final decision, commit suicide before the arrival of the millennium.
Luis Garcia Berlanga was almost eighty when he directed this film. The screenplay seems to be the case of too many cooks trying to make a paella, resulting in an uneven film that will not add anything to the man that was one of the most innovative forces in the cinema of his country. Even Mr. Garcia Berlanga's direction leaves the many characters in the movie to their own devices, as emoting is general. The film is a mix of styles that does not make much sense. In a change of pace, male nudity, something directors and actors try to stay away from, is shown throughout the film, but make no mistake, it plays well within the context of the movie.
Michel Piccoli, a giant in the French cinema looks old and tired. His plastic surgeon doctor shows he is going fast into an early senility. The rest of the Spanish cast have done better before.