The Uselessness of Money in Rural Idylls Should I watch old movies? There are several reasons for this. First, “ethnographic-cognitive”: in what environment people lived during the filming of the film. Second, the issues that preoccupy the director at the time—and how much it lost relevance—or remained relevant are of interest. And finally, in the old movies, actors who were really favorite and recognizable masks play.
So, the pictures of rural life of the late 50s in the film is enough; the film is clearly parable in nature, and in the main role - Fernandel.
The plot of the film is simple: the cursed fascists before their collapse dropped bomb-like containers with fake francs in France in order to completely destroy the economy of the liberated country. The protagonist (Fernandel), thanks to the curiosity of his sheep, finds such a container - and becomes incredibly rich. But all he can do with this money (and there are more than a billion!) is to have a dinner and give the money to the people of a small village every day. And residents, in the end, rebel against such handouts: like Fernandel, they too have nowhere to spend this money! And it is not known what would have ended the shootout (the residents with guns are determined!), but then special agents appear and finally take all these (as it turned out, fake) francs.
Actually, here is the parable: you do not need money in the countryside, but love (love line with a widow will also bring pleasure) and good relations with neighbors are important.
I remember René Clair’s film All the Gold of the World with Bourville (1961), with about the same premise.
As always, the main question that arises from any review is: watch or not? If you have time, if you like Fernandel, you can see it. But if your actions can save the world, then do it better.