''Le Couple témoin'', released in English as ''The Model Couple,'' is a 1977 French and

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

film by William Klein. It is a

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of exposin ...

consumerism Consumerism is a socio-cultural and economic phenomenon that is typical of industrialized societies. It is characterized by the continuous acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing quantities. In contemporary consumer society, the ...

and

modernity Modernity, a topic in the humanities and social sciences, is both a historical period (the modern era) and the ensemble of particular Society, socio-Culture, cultural Norm (social), norms, attitudes and practices that arose in the wake of the ...

, and follows the events of a national experiment where a "model couple" representing the typical French pair is subjected to constant surveillance as they undergo experiences both mundane and absurd.

Themes

Originally intended as a piece of a larger production, ''The Model Couple'' is a satire that is critical of

mass media Mass media include the diverse arrays of media that reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit information electronically via media such as films, radio, recorded music, or television. Digital media comprises b ...

, technology and government

surveillance Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior, many activities, or information for the purpose of information gathering, influencing, managing, or directing. This can include observation from a distance by means of electronic equipment, such as ...

, and investigates the ways in which liberal societies can become oppressively

totalitarian Totalitarianism is a political system and a form of government that prohibits opposition from political parties, disregards and outlaws the political claims of individual and group opposition to the state, and completely controls the public sph ...

. Despite these heavy themes, the film's tone is largely

slapstick Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such as ...

, interspersed with

psychedelic Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary mental states (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips") and a perceived "expansion of consciousness". Also referred to as classic halluci ...

sequences.

Plot

In 1970s France, Jean-Michel ( André Dussollier) and Claudine (

Anémone Anne Bourguignon (; 9 August 1950 – 30 April 2019), known professionally as Anémone (), was a French actress, filmmaker and political activist. She took her stage name in 1968 from the title of her film debut in Philippe Garrel's ''Anémone ...

) are chosen by the Ministry of the Future to be the "model couple", a heterosexual pair to be used as test subjects in order to create "a new city for the new man" in the year 2000. Immediately upon their arrival at the test facility, Jean-Michel and Claudine are subjected to constant surveillance and monitoring by a pair of unfriendly sociologists ( Zouc and Jacques Boudet) who constantly rate and evaluate the couple. The couple are asked to evaluate various state-of-the-art consumer products and to go through their daily routines in increasingly alienating and Kafkaesque circumstances. As the experiment proceeds, the media speculates endlessly about its progress on talk shows and in news reporting, and the couple becomes increasingly irritated with the sociologists, the experiment, and each other. The sociologists' true motives become unclear, as they simultaneously mislead the couple as to the purpose of the experiment while themselves expressing contempt for the experiment's supposed intent and proceedings. The experiment enters a new phase, titled "denormalization". The couple are visited by guests, including a government minister and the American psychologist Dr. Goldberg, who humiliates Jean-Michel by testing his submissiveness to authority. Later, a group of teenage terrorists (who are likely also employed by the Ministry of the Future, although this is left ambiguous) invades the experiment chamber wielding fake weapons. The terrorists propose that the couple play along with them and rebel against the experiment, unplugging all of the surveillance equipment and covering the walls with graffiti. A hostage team is sent to negotiate with the terrorists while the news media speculates wildly as to their motives and the consequences for the experiment. The terrorists demand airtime on television in exchange for the release of the couple, and film a short video together with Jean-Michel and Claudine. At the end of the film, Jean-Michel and Claudine are evicted from the experiment without an explanation as the terrorists and sociologists walk away.

Production

The film was written and directed by William Klein, edited by Valerie Mayoux, and has music by

Michel Colombier Michel Colombier (23 May 1939 – 14 November 2004) was a French composer, arranger, and conductor. Career Colombier wrote the scores of several motion pictures and TV productions. He also wrote chamber music and ballets. With composer Pierre ...

and

Hugues Aufray Hugues Jean Marie Auffray (; born 18 August 1929), better known as Hugues Aufray, is a French singer-songwriter. He is known for French-language covers of Bob Dylan's songs. Aufray knew Dylan and his work from his time in New York City,Ian Bel ...

. William Klein and Philippe Rousselot are credited for

cinematography Cinematography () is the art of motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography. Cinematographers use a lens (optics), lens to focus reflected light from objects into a real image that is transferred to some image sen ...

Cast

* André Dussollier: Jean-Michel *

: Claudine * Zouc: Psycho-sociologist no. 1 * Jacques Boudet: Psycho-sociologist no. 2 *

Eddie Constantine Eddie Constantine (born Israel Constantine; October 29, 1913 – February 25, 1993) was an American singer, actor and entertainer who spent most of his career in France. He became well-known to film audiences for his portrayal of secret agent L ...

: Doctor Goldberg *

Georges Descrières Georges Descrières (15 April 1930 – 19 October 2013) was a French actor. He appeared in 52 films and television shows between 1954 and 1996. He starred alongside Anna Karina in the 1962 film ''Sun in Your Eyes'' and portrayed the gentlema ...

: Minister of the Future * André Penvern: TV commentator

Reception and legacy

In a review for the

Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films". A "sister company" of arthouse film distributo ...

, Michael Koresky describes the film as "soberingly prescient" and "remarkably fresh...a social satire

hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...

carries a timeless sting". A review in ''

Télérama ''Télérama'' is a weekly French language, French cultural and television magazine published in Paris, France. The name is a contraction of its earlier title: ''Télévision-Radio-Cinéma''. Fabienne Pascaud is currently managing editor. Ludovic ...

'' wrote that the film's improvised tone was both charming and a limitation which underscored director William Klein's penchant for

documentaries A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". The American author and media analyst Bill ...

over fiction, concluding that ''The Model Couple'' is overall quite funny and that Zouc's performance as an antisocial psychosociologist alone makes the film worth watching. The film is included in a

box set of William Klein's films.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Model Couple 1977 films Swiss comedy films French satirical films Films directed by William Klein Films scored by Michel Colombier Swiss science fiction films French science fiction comedy films 1970s French films