Le Papillon

January 23, 2006 3:41 PM

Le Papillon is quintessential heartwarming French cinema. [Windows Media]
posted by Protocols of the Elders of Awesome (29 comments total)

Damn, those things aren't nearly as funny when you understand the language. And they're not funny at all even when you don't.
posted by Decani at 3:52 PM on January 23, 2006

Well i loved it when it was on B3ta, but not really mefi single link fpp material
posted by lemonfridge at 4:03 PM on January 23, 2006

Ow. My head. I have a headache and it's making me laugh. High-larious.

Poteoa - awesome post. First you bring me Conan and now this. Friended! LOLOLOLZZ!!
posted by Baby_Balrog at 4:06 PM on January 23, 2006

Anything for a prophet of the Leafy NimoySphere!
posted by Protocols of the Elders of Awesome at 4:13 PM on January 23, 2006

I don't get it; is it supposed to be funny because the sub-titles don't match the spoken dialogue, or because people who don't speak French would assume that's what is actually being said?
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 4:24 PM on January 23, 2006

Oh well. At least I'm not the humorist that created this. But now I understand why people complain about a film others enjoy.
posted by ?! at 4:25 PM on January 23, 2006

?!
posted by Protocols of the Elders of Awesome at 4:34 PM on January 23, 2006

My favorite part is when Steve McQueen's teeth start falling out and Dustin Hoffman smuggles him in a piece of coconut.
posted by stenseng at 4:37 PM on January 23, 2006

How does this constitute a parody of French cinema? I mean, I don't catch every French import, so perhaps I missed the ones where the little girls are repeatedly told to fuck off and die horribly. Then, I guess, this would be
just hilarious.
posted by longsleeves at 4:58 PM on January 23, 2006

Oh come on. It's funny because the subtitles obviously don't match the words that are being spoken, rather, they've been changed to say something that is probably totally different from what the original director had intended! AND so you have a sort of cognitive dissonance between what appears to be a grandfatherly fellow on the screen, adventuring about with a little girl, and the text which is quite angry and threatening toward the unassuming child.

But since you're all a bunch of 84 year old, french speaking film critics you probably don't see the humor in it.
posted by Baby_Balrog at 5:09 PM on January 23, 2006

I thought it was hysterical. I also think it treads that line where people have to wonder if it was enough to merit an fpp. I like it, but metafilter doesn't cater to what I like, much as it obviously should. because I'm awesome. but yeah. that was funny as shit.

"You're just like your mother! Three feet tall!"

awesome.
posted by shmegegge at 6:43 PM on January 23, 2006

I could swear this was posted here like two months ago, and the same jackass comments were made ("why is this funny?" etc). Man I hate losers who come into threads of stuff others find amusing and just point out how superior they are that they aren't moved to laughter by the post. Good work, assholes.
posted by jonson at 7:03 PM on January 23, 2006

All i meant to point out is that if there are no french films in which something like these scenes occur, then It's just juvenile gigglig, not really parody.
posted by longsleeves at 7:27 PM on January 23, 2006

Who the fuck is Ken Bigley? Cute though! I will show my wife and then she will spit at me because she hates the child as well! That little assuming bitch!

Really, that's cute though.
posted by snsranch at 7:46 PM on January 23, 2006

Hitler.
posted by thirteenkiller at 7:50 PM on January 23, 2006

Hitler?
posted by Krrrlson at 8:07 PM on January 23, 2006

# | Man I hate losers who come into threads of stuff others find amusing and just point out how superior they are that they aren't moved to laughter by the post. Good work, assholes.

I concur completely, jonson. These people are worse than Hitler.
posted by antifreez_ at 8:10 PM on January 23, 2006

I suspect they favour postnatal abortion too.
posted by Krrrlson at 8:13 PM on January 23, 2006

Man it's like duck season on abortion and Hitler in here :/
posted by 31d1 at 9:41 PM on January 23, 2006

I didn't say I wasn't amused; I just wasn't sure if I was enjoying it the way it was intended to.

*Goes back to reading my copy of Cahiers du Cinema, Perdant Trou du Cul Edition*
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 9:43 PM on January 23, 2006

Rabbit season!
posted by Wolof at 11:16 PM on January 23, 2006

Duck season!
posted by stenseng at 11:29 PM on January 23, 2006

Ken Bigley was the British hostage beheaded in Iraq back in 2004.

And jonson, you must have missed the Kevin Smith thread last week.
posted by ?! at 11:57 PM on January 23, 2006

I prefer this to Wagner, I can tell you that.
posted by NinjaPirate at 1:57 AM on January 24, 2006

An old man having some form of kooky heartwarming relationship with a child or young woman is very common in French film. There is a little parody here.
posted by Protocols of the Elders of Awesome at 3:24 AM on January 24, 2006

Mildly amusing until the Ken Bigley line, then you realise it's just a pile of shit made by some students who think they're being really edgy.
posted by ciderwoman at 4:01 AM on January 24, 2006

From the website:
--
Putfile Unavailable In Your Region

Due to persistent abuse we regret we are not providing service to your region at this time.
--
While we regularly abuse English in this part of the world, this is the first time someone has accused us of abusing French and spoofs of French films.

I fart in your general direction, messieurs et mesdames des putfile.
posted by the cydonian at 6:03 AM on January 24, 2006

But since you're all a bunch of 84 year old, french speaking film critics you probably don't see the humor in it.

That is where I laughed : )
posted by pwedza at 3:38 PM on January 24, 2006

Ah, but I am.
posted by Wolof at 4:24 AM on January 25, 2006