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Le Départ
Le Départ
Directed by	Jerzy Skolimowski
Written by	Andrzej Kostenko; Jerzy Skolimowski
Starring	Jean-Pierre Léaud; Catherine-Isabelle Duport
Cinematography	Willy Kurant
Music by	Krzysztof Komeda
Release date	1967;
Running time	93 minutes
Country	Belgium
Language	French

Le Départ is a 1967 Belgian comedy film directed by Jerzy Skolimowski. It stars Jean-Pierre Léaud as a car-obsessed young man trying to get possession of a Porsche for a race. The film won the Golden Bear at the 17th Berlin International Film Festival.^[1] The film was also selected as the Belgian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 40th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.^[2]

In several English-speaking countries, it has been released under the title The Departure.^[3]

Plot

Marc is a young hairdresser in Brussels who is crazy about cars. Hoping his boss will lend him his Porsche 911S, he has entered for a rally. However, his boss says he is using the car that weekend. After failing to con a dealer into a loan, he decides to sell everything he has. In the process he meets an attractive girl called Michèle, who supports his plan, and the two end up shut inside the Brussels Motor Show for the night.

His next idea is to approach a client of the salon, a rich older woman who has a Porsche, and try to charm it from her. Finding her at a catwalk show of bikinis, she takes him into her car and fellates him. Abandoning that line of attack, he learns that he cannot rent a car because he is too young and then he fails to steal one in the street. When telling Michèle that all avenues seem closed, his boss returns and says he can have the Porsche for the weekend after all.

At the hotel by the starting line, he finds they can only afford one room, so he disguises himself as a girl and goes up with Michèle. They talk late and fall asleep on the bed. In the morning, cars are revving up for the start but the two have overslept. Emerging from the bathroom, Marc pulls the bedding off Michèle to find that she is naked and waiting for him. The film ends at that moment, leaving viewers to assume that Marc is going to find a relationship with Michèle more rewarding than rallying.

Cast

Jean-Pierre Léaud - Marc
Catherine-Isabelle Duport - Michèle (as Catherine Duport)
Jacqueline Bir - The Woman
Paul Roland - The Boss
Leon Dony
Lucien Charbonnier
Georges Aubrey
John Dobrynine
Bernard Graczyk
Marthe Dugard
Maxane
Jacques Courtois
Paul Frère - Paul Frère
Paul Delrivière

References

^ "Berlinale 1967: Prize Winners". berlinale.de. Retrieved 2010-02-27.
^ Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
^ Note. The English title is a mistranslation. Correctly, it should be The Start, referring both to the start of the rally and the start of the relationship between Marc and Michèle.