In My Life and My Films... «Something to Declare»
Oksident13 января 2017In My Life and My Films Renoir pointedly makes no mention of the final product, choosing instead to describe a game called “lefoutro” (etymology: from foutre, to fuck) which director and stars played over convivial dinners at Lyons-la-Forêt:
A napkin folded in the shape of the male organ was placed in the middle of the dinner-table, and the rule was that it must be studiously ignored. Anyone who showed the slightest sign of being distracted by it was rapped three times over the knuckles with “lefoutro” while the following sentence was pronounced: “I saw you making advances to your neighbour. You insulted Monsieur Lefoutro. You are hereby punished and your fault is pardoned.” The guilty person could protest— “How could I have insulted Monsieur Lefoutro when I was busy cutting up my chicken?” In this case a vote was taken and the penalty doubled if the sentence was confirmed. Harmless games of this kind did more to prepare us for the next day's work than tedious discourses.
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