Tartarin de Tarascon: A tall tale of a man who talks too much

Is it worth your time?

Honestly, if you enjoy movies about people who are full of themselves, you'll probably get a kick out of this. It’s for folks who like old-school character studies where the comedy comes from someone being consistently, hilariously wrong about their own life. If you’re looking for high-octane action or a tight, logical plot, you might find yourself checking your watch.

Tartarin is the kind of guy who buys all the gear for a safari but probably forgets to pack his common sense. You can see the panic in his eyes when he realizes he actually has to leave his comfort zone. It’s a very human, very pathetic kind of comedy. 🦁

The desert reality check

The moment he hits the desert, the movie shifts gears. The transition from his bragging in the town square to the harsh, dry reality of Algeria is handled with a nice, dry wit. He meets this "Prince" character, and you just know—you just know—it’s going to go south.

The scene where he accidentally kills the sacred blind lion is just peak absurdity. It felt like the movie was winking at me. Like, of course he kills the one animal he wasn’t supposed to. It’s so perfectly, frustratingly Tartarin.

• The costume design is surprisingly detailed.
• Raimu is doing a lot of heavy lifting here.
• That one street scene felt like it went on for about three minutes too long.
• The fake lion skin looks like it came from a craft store, which honestly makes it better.

It reminds me a bit of the frantic energy in Roaring Lions on a Steamship, though with way more talking and way less, well, steamship. It’s not trying to be a deep, life-changing epic like Anna Karenina. It’s just a story about a guy who lies to himself until the world forces him to stop.

I wasn't sure if I was supposed to feel bad for him at the end. Everyone is cheering for his fake heroics, and he just sort of rolls with it. It’s a bit dark if you think about it for more than five seconds. I think I’ll just stick to the surface level fun of it all.

Anyway, it’s a weird little gem. Don’t go in expecting a masterpiece. Go in expecting to watch a guy walk into a trap of his own making and survive it purely by accident.