STAVISKY
A swindler's activity (Jean-Paul Belmondo) indirectly caused a political crisis in France in the last years before World War II. Based upon real events.
Irresistible charm and talent help Serge Alexandre alias Stavisky, small-time swindler, to make friends with even the most influential members of the French industrial and political elite during the early '30s. But nothing lasts forever and when his great scam involving hundreds of millions of francs gets exposed, the result is an unprecedented scandal that almost caused a civil war.
This film makes the central character likeable, largely by emphasizing the ambient anti-Semitism that surrounds him (and of course by casting Belmondo in the role). The film features a host of actors whose careers only grew from there including a young Depardieu. For fans of beautiful cars and beautiful women in beautiful clothes, especially in the Thirties. And the score is by the late Stephen Sondheim.
