In a small French village, everything would be quiet if the local wildlife cop was not being ridiculed by a smart poacher.
This Surrealist film, with a title referencing the Communist Manifesto, strings together short incidents based on the life of director Luis Buñuel. Presented as chance encounters, these loosely related, intersecting situations, all without a consistent protagonist, reach from the 19th century to the 1970s. Touching briefly on subjects such as execution, pedophilia, incest, and sex, the film features an array of characters, including a sick father and incompetent police officers.
Cruchot's police office moves into a new building. They do not only get high tech equipment, but also four young female police officers to educate. All of them scramble to work with them -- and cause pure chaos while being distracted by the fine ladies. Then they get into real trouble when one after the other of their female colleagues is kidnapped.
Flanked by their two children, Simon and Adélaïde decide, like many Parisians today, to leave their two-room apartment for a quieter and more comfortable life in the country. They are seduced by a house in the middle of nature: space, a vegetable garden, a wood adjoining their garden and above all villagers who welcome them with open arms. A dream come true! But the young couple was soon to be disillusioned: the wood was actually a hunting ground for big game! Although the hunters are friendly, they are not willing to give up their territory, making Simon and Adélaïde's dream of the countryside a living hell. But true to their reputation, our Parisians are not going to let them do it.
The Tramp is an escaped convict who is mistaken as a pastor in a small town church.
Baptiste, a talented imitator, is unable to make a living from his art. One day, he is approached by Pierre Chozène, a famous but discreet novelist, constantly disturbed by incessant calls from his publisher, his daughter, his ex-wife... Pierre, who needs peace and quiet to write his most ambitious text, then suggests that Baptiste become his 'answering machine' by pretending to be him on the phone... Little by little, Baptiste doesn't just imitate the writer: he develops his character!
A story centered on a man who works as an informant for the French border patrol.
François Marsault, a war veteran, makes the most of his retirement alongside his wife Annie. Authoritarian and ruthless, François rules his family with an iron fist — but when he discovers that his esteemed wife cheated on him 40 years ago, he files for divorce and confronts her former lover, who lives in the French Riviera.
Everyone in the village of Bouzolles knows the Tuche family, who live by the philosophy "Man is not made to work." Despite their lack of money, they strive to be happy... that is, until their hand-to-mouth existence is turned on its head. After winning the lottery, the Tuches get rich beyond their wildest dreams and move to Monaco. And while attempting to fit in in their swanky new homeland, they struggle to stay true to the same principles by which they've always lived.
A shy San Francisco librarian and a bumbling cop fall in love as they solve a crime involving albinos, dwarves, and the Catholic Church.
Energetic priest Don Camillo returns to the town of Brescello for more political and personal duels with Communist mayor Peppone.
When a lottery winner dies of shock, his fellow townsfolk attempt to claim the money.
Michael Corben, along with the rest of his high-school French class, sets out for a trip to France when he is mistaken for an agent of the same name. He is beseiged by both the good guys and the bad guys. British Intelligence outfits him with a series of James-Bond-like gizmos, and Steranko sends more would-be assassins after him. Can Michael stop the evil Steranko's plans for European domination?
Unable to find her runaway son, a woman deceives two of her ex-lovers from her youth, a mild-mannered teacher and a tough journalist, that each is the real father in order to obtain their help.
Alphonse Tram is unwittingly involved in several murders despite having no memory of committing the crimes. His confusion lead him to confess to his neighbour, Inspector Morvandieu. Alphonse and Morvandieu become the axis around which murders occur.
Drawn from elements of West African folk tales, it depicts how a newborn boy, Kirikou, saves his village from the evil witch Karaba.
After a wizard's spell goes awry, 12th-century Gallic knight Godefroy de Papincourt, Count of Montmirail finds himself transported to 1993, along with his dimwitted servant, Jacquouille la Fripouille. Startled and perplexed by modern technology, the duo run amok, destroying cars and causing chaos until they meet Beatrice de Montmirail, an aristocratic descendant of the nobleman, who may be able to help them get back to 1123.
Spiritualist Blanche Tyler and her cab-driving boyfriend encounter a pair of serial kidnappers while trailing a missing heir in California.
A small-time con man on the run from the gangster-husband of his girlfriend hides out in a strange, brooding mansion run by two mysterious women, where he finds himself trapped in deception between the two women.
In this riot of frantic disguises and mistaken identities, Victor Pivert, a blustering, bigoted French factory owner, finds himself taken hostage by Slimane, an Arab rebel leader. The two dress up as rabbis as they try to elude not only assasins from Slimane's country, but also the police, who think Pivert is a murderer. Pivert ends up posing as Rabbi Jacob, a beloved figure who's returned to France for his first visit after 30 years in the United States. Adding to the confusion are Pivert's dentist-wife, who thinks her husband is leaving her for another woman, their daughter, who's about to get married, and a Parisian neighborhood filled with people eager to celebrate the return of Rabbi Jacob.
