MoMA presents the American theatrical premiere of Le père Noël est une ordure (1982), a mean-spirited, but very funny, 30-year-old French comedy whose title translates roughly to “Santa Claus stinks.” In terms of seasonal ubiquity, the film is to French Christmas-time what It’s a Wonderful Life is for American audiences, and in terms of quotability it approaches Casablanca, in that every other French person seems to know the film by heart. This yuletide classic was directed by Jean-Marie Poiré, from a script developed by the actors of the Le Splendid café-théâtre company (including Anémone, Thierry Lhermitte, Josiane Balasko, Marie-Anne Chazel, Gérard Jugnot, and Christian Clavier).
Organized by Laurence Kardish, Senior Curator, Department of Film.