Perched on a Tree (1971)

The greatest movie ever made..!

Some things I liked some I did not.

It is not only a funny movie, but it allows a great amount of joy for anyone who watches it.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

'Sur un arbre perche' is the original title of a De Funes film and when saying De Funes, one thinks comedy relying basically on grimaces, silly noises etc... Well, this isn't quite the case here.... Louis de Funes does what he does best-the above mentioned- but the film comes as a surprise in which that it is more than a comedy- the end proves it ! It's a satire at all that makes today's society's entertainment : church, family values, onerous business, TV reality shows, politicians, public services like police, fire fighters, first aid; it's all there in the spotlight and none is given a sweet pat on the head- far from it ! The film being shot in the early 70's, the satire addressing all the mentioned areas is so much more compelling. The silly accident which leads to three strangers being literally perched on a 'pin parapluie' in a car above the sea for a week is still a good starting point for some gentle humour 'De Funes style', but when the protagonists are finally discovered there's a load of not so humorous, yet immensely funny reactions from all the concerned authorities or people , none of them actually doing much to rescue our heroes. And when they are finally rescued... well... A film to watch at least for one reason: it is not what you might expect.

-Perched on a Tree (French title: Sur un arbre perché) is a French comedy movie from 1971, directed by Serge Korber, written by Pierre Roustang, and starring Louis de Funès. French comic Louis De Funes stars as Henri, who has a very unfortunate accident while on his way to arrange some sort of shady deal on the Italian border. He has tried desperately not to let his better impulses get control of him; nonetheless, he has already picked up a hitchhiker (Olivier De Funes) and a married woman in distress (Geraldine Chaplin) when his car runs off the road, falls over a cliff, and lands in the crown of a tree. The efforts of this threesome to cope with the situation and get rescued constitute the body of this film..

a nice story. tension and humor. love, French irony, Louis de Funes and Geraldine Chaplin, Olivier de Funes, a car, a pine and too many details. a lot of clichés. but, far to be memorable, it is a decent comedy about media, revenge and survive. and good occasion to discover, again, a great actor not in one of his high roles but in an exercise to use the nuances of his stereotypes character. a film about family, business and religion, about adventure and relations in crisis, not very credible but nice and almost useful. one of easy films who reminds old fashion humor recipes. and who has the right dose of nostalgic emotion. so, see it !

Imagine George Clooney and Jim Carrey alone in the car between sky and sea with Cathrin Zitta on the backseat doing with her ... sex? No ... not sex, COMEDY! You can't? This is simply because Jim Carrey cannot even compare with the mighty comic genius of the great De Funes. Please don't even think to remake (in other words, steal) his genial films EVER! Please, Hollywood. PLEASE, do your usual blockbusters about slapstick comedy situations involving petting, flirting, masturbating, copulating, ejaculating and please PLEASE leave monsters in comedy like monsieur De Funes rest in peace. What more is to be said. You cannot understand this movie unless you were born European. Sure it will be boring to the Americans excluding few brief nudity scenes with young Geraldine Chaplin wearing really funny trousers.