ReFocus

Analyses how the French director Francis Veber uses comedy to make serious social commentaries

Few directors have played such a prominent role as Francis Veber in shaping the cinematic identity of France over the past forty years, yet in many ways his chosen genre of comedy has relegated his work to the margins of Film Studies. Using an auterist lens to challenge the notions of taste, genre and aesthetics that are commonly used to form the cinematic canon, this book explores the twelve films Veber directed between 1976 and 2008. These include Le Jouet (1976), Les fugitifs (1986) and L’emmerdeur (2008).

Considering also Veber’s extensive work as a playwright, theatre director and screenwriter – as well as the numerous remakes and adaptations of his films in Hollywood – author Keith Corson focuses on issues of class, labour and politics to examine the ways in which Veber embeds serious social critiques in his mainstream films.

Key features

• The first scholarly book dedicated to Francis Veber’s films and career
• Considers the twelve films Veber directed between 1976 and 2008, his extensive work as a playwright, theatre director and screenwriter
• Bridges scholarship on French and American cinema, speaking to transnational discourses within film studies

Case studies

• Le Jouet (1976)
• La chèvre (1981)
• Les compères (1983)
• Les fugitifs (1986)
• Three Fugitives (1989)
• Out on a Limb (1992)
• Le jaguar (1996)
• Le diner de cons (1998)
• Le placard (2001)
• Tais-toi! (2003)
• La doublure (2006)
• L’emmerdeur (2008)