The Smugglers

A truly singular object that is both a loving spoof of Hollywood-style action thrillers and a sociological send-up of the burgeoning student movement, The Smugglers follows two women (Françoise Vatel and Monique Thiriet) who work on the French side of the border in the Southern Alps running goods (and people). When the two women discover that they’re both romantically involved with the same man, a delirious threeway chase ensues that will find our heroines (and their two-timing third) running afoul of state officials and underworld figures alike. Also notable for inaugurating Luc Moullet’s career-spanning interest in landscape, not so much as background but rather as still another character in the farce we call “life.” Film restored by La Traverse with the assistance of the Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée (CNC). Restorations carried out by Cosmodigital and L.E. Diapason and distributed in North America by Cinema Guild.