The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe

A French spy comedy. There is a struggle between the head of the intelligence service and his deputy. The deputy wants to bring him down and has a plan. The chief makes a counter-move: he sends men to the airport and orders them to follow someone chosen at random. The man selected is a violinist named François. His only distinguishing feature is that he is wearing two different shoes. What follows is an entire service pursuing a musician. They bug his flat, tap his phone, send surveillance teams. François notices nothing and goes about his day. The humour comes from that asymmetry: his most ordinary movement acquires deep meaning on the other side. The woman sent to seduce him is drawn in too and the situation gets further tangled. Pierre Richard plays François, in the role that made him one of France's best-known comic actors. Bernard Blier, Jean Rochefort and Mireille Darc are in the cast. Yves Robert directed. It was a great success in France, a sequel followed, and it was remade in America. Among the best of its kind for anyone who likes classical French comedy. For a viewer expecting a brisk spy film, the narrative is built entirely on misunderstanding.