Very Happy Alexander

1968 French comedy film

Films de la Colombe
Madeleine Films
La Guéville

Release dates

9 February 1968 (1968-02-09) (France)
17 February 1969 (1969-02-17) (U.S.)
21 December 1973 (1973-12-21) (West Germany)

Running time

100 minCountryFranceLanguageFrenchBox office$16,645,537^[1]

Very Happy Alexander (French: Alexandre le Bienheureux, "Blissful Alexander") is a 1968 French comedy film, directed by Yves Robert, starring Philippe Noiret, Marlène Jobert and Françoise Brion. This was comic actor Pierre Richard's third appearance^{[citation needed]} on film, playing a secondary role toward the end of the plot.

The film was released on DVD on 4 May 2004.

Brief summary

Philippe Noiret plays a henpecked childless farmer that lives oppressed by his authoritarian and materialistic wife, being the only worker in his farm. Whenever he attempts to take a small rest, indulge in any distraction, or simply falls asleep out of exhaustion, there she is chasing him to move on. When she and her elderly parents are killed in a car accident, he decides that the time has come to take it easy and enjoy life a little, sets all his livestock free, and then practically disappears. The only clue that he is still alive is his dog, who periodically goes shopping to the nearby town with a basket in its mouth. Concerns about Alexander's fate are the center of the town's gossip. After several attempts, a delegation sent by the citizens finds he has retired—to his bed. This creates no small social upheaval in this working-class small French town where hard work is regarded as a virtue, and hence his attitude is viewed as a scandal and a menace.