You are as bold as you are brave.

My brother, I have discovered in recent years, has an impressive ability to find really obscure movies that I like. I don't really know how he does it - especially considering the fact that he finds me hard to buy for and doesn't like buying me movies (to be fair, I am picky) and we don't really see each other anymore. Last year (as in 2010), he bought me Give a Girl a Break and Holiday in Mexico, both of which were fun and fluffy musicals - right up my alley. This past year, he bought me a French '50s film called Fanfan la Tulipe. I'll be honest, I don't usually brave foreign film territory. Not because I don't like them or don't trust their quality, but because I don't know anything about them. I know a lot about American films; I'll stick to what I know for now.

However, this movie makes me feel like I'm probably missing out. Because it is fantastic!

found here

In fact, I'm going to add it to my much-neglected 100 movies list:

#39: Fanfan la Tulipe (1952)

found here

Imagine an Errol Flynn movie. Got it? Now, make it a little bit sillier, make it French and add some low-cut costumes and a lot of innuendo. Imagining it? That's Fanfan la Tulipe. It's a fun, swashbuckling film about a good-hearted, good-looking, impudent, and brave rogue-ish fellow named Fanfan (Gerard Philipe). After he receives a fortune from a bogus fortune-teller (Gina Lollobrigida), saying that he will marry the king's daughter, Fanfan goes in search of his destiny - even when he learns that the fortune was made up.

found here

It's a lot of fun, full of great sword-fighting scenes, romance, and excitement - I was at the edge of my seat! I really liked the main character and I really liked the girl and I really liked the sidekick. I figure that's pretty good if the three main characters are likable. There were a number of villains in this film. I didn't care for all of them as villains because one of them was just annoying but one of them (I'm trying to avoid spoilers) was a very good villain. I do recommend it if you have the chance. Netflix offers it. By the bye, the title of this post is part of the translated subtitles. I don't speak French so it's a little hard for me to quote it!

found here