May Fools

It's the merry, merry month of May, 1968, and the streets of Paris are aflame with student uprisings. In a large villa in southwestern France, the matriarch of a large family dies, and the relatives from all over converge on the estate. Milou (Michel Piccoli), the 60-year-old eldest son who has resided at home, welcomes his brothers, nephews, and nieces, and together they all set about dividing the estate. Hanging over the proceedings, however, is the political furor, which divides the huge family. The older members enjoy their aristocratic privileges and feel threatened by the impending revolution, while the children of the aristocrats are ready to usher in a new order. It's a situation ripe for satire, and director Louis Malle (Au Revoirs Les Enfants, Atlantic City, Murmur of the Heart) obviously has a fun time with the possibilities. When news of DeGaulle's departure from Paris reaches the aristocrats, the terrified clan literally heads for the hills (afraid that the revolutionaries are on their way to torch their house). May Fools is a low-key farce that pokes fun at the social classes while landing a few telling charges at the selfishness of ordinary humanity. Recommended. (R. Pitman)