A monkey in winter on France 3: Gabin vs. Bébel

In this 1962 classic, Gabin and Belmondo, friends like pigs despite the generation gap, drink until they are thirsty.

A monkey in winter by Henri Verneuil. Dialogues by Michel Audiard based on the book by Antoine Blondin. With grandpa Gabin and Bébel. 1962. Out of breath and the Nouvelle Vague were born three years earlier. Belmondo embodies modernity almost by himself. A face, a relaxation, an approach, an energy… He is already everywhere, in Godard, Sautet, Melville, Bolognini, De Sica, De Broca… A monkey in winteron paper, it’s a bit like dad’s cinema, a slightly reactionary thing where the old world would like to teach the new a lesson. This “French quality” was cheerfully ridiculed by Truffaut.