Plastic Guns

Plastic Guns

A country dancer wrongly accused of being a famous murderer, two frustrated amateur detectives, and a ride straight into the jaws of madness.

One morning Paul Bernardin wakes up and decides to murder his entire family. The neighbours are a bit baffled – after all, he’s a decent chap, very helpful and polite, he’d always say “good morning” first. After the slaughter, he disappears without a trace, putting the police all over Europe on their feet. On his trail are also two Facebook amateur detectives, frustrated middle-aged women dreaming of finding the murderer and giving meaning to their uninteresting existences. They are ready for whatever, the Danish police catch the murderer at Copenhagen airport first. However, the captured Paul Bernardin does not look like the man they are looking for, is of a different height and build, and insists that his name is Michel Uzès, a country dancer travelling to a cowboy competition with a suitcase full of tassels. The French media get excited about the monster’s capture, even though the real murderer is enjoying his new life in South America.

“Plastic Guns” is a dark comedy in which the absurd breeds the absurd while brilliant humour, peppered with sadness, pokes fun at the modern media and their obsession with political correctness. This French film made a splash at Cannes this year. Uncompromising, witty and original, it prompts a discussion on the media’s readiness to hunt for witches without asking questions, about Facebook court-martials and pointing fingers, and ultimately about the truth and whether it matters at all. Jean-Christophe Meurisse, however, refuses to lecture his audience but, as in “Blood Oranges”, plants a thought on the modern world and then leads them into a fit of madness filled with the macabre, daring wit, perverse humour and absurdity. ‘Plastic Guns’ will leave the audience stupefied and enthralled. It’s a surreal, painfully relevant film that guarantees a wild ride and a dose of graphic violence.

For this film, Meurisse drew on a true story that shook France in 2011. Xavier Dupont de Ligonnès murdered his entire family and his dogs, then buried the bodies in his backyard garden. Eight years later, Guy Joao was arrested at Glasgow Airport, who, like the filmed Uzès, bore no resemblance to the real murderer whatsoever. Xavier Dupont de Ligonnès, however, has turned into thin air.

The partner of the screening is Institut Français en Pologne