Lidoire: A little bit of military misery

Is this for you?

If you like old-school French comedies that don't waste your time, you'll probably get a kick out of this. It’s short, punchy, and feels more like a staged play than a modern blockbuster. If you need explosions or a fast-paced plot to keep you awake, you are going to hate this.

It’s really just about two guys, a uniform, and a whole lot of unearned attitude. Lidoire is the kind of guy who just wants to get through the day, but his adjutant seems to exist purely to make that impossible.

There is a scene where the adjutant is just going on and on about nothing, and you can see the exact moment Lidoire stops listening. I felt that in my soul. It’s a very human reaction to a very annoying person.

The vibe

The whole thing has this dusty, cramped feeling to it. You aren't getting sweeping vistas or epic camera movements. You're getting faces. You're getting the twitch in an eye when someone says something stupid. It’s intimate, in a weirdly frustrating way.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Lidoire (1933) through its definitive frames.

Fernandel is, as you’d expect, doing a lot with his face. He doesn’t even have to speak to show you exactly how tired he is of the whole situation. It reminds me a bit of the quiet exhaustion you see in characters from The Breath of the Gods, where the atmosphere does more work than the script.

• The uniforms look like they’ve seen better days.
• The adjutant’s mustache deserves its own billing.
• The pacing is erratic, like a conversation that keeps getting interrupted.

Honestly, I spent half the movie waiting for someone to just walk out of the room. But they never do. They just keep talking. It’s beautiful and maddening at the same time.

It’s not a masterpiece, and it doesn't try to be. It’s just a snapshot of a guy who really, really needs a vacation from his job. We've all been there, right? Sometimes you just want to sit in a chair and not hear someone complain about the regulations for five minutes.

I wouldn't call this an essential watch, but if you're curious about older French cinema, it’s a nice little snack. Don't expect to have your life changed, though. Just expect to leave feeling a little bit more patient with your own coworkers tomorrow morning. ☕