F comme Fairbanks (1976)

A chemical engineering graduate, now free of his military service obligations, André Fragman returns to his father, a movie projectionist at a small cinema, an American by birth and a film buff. The young man is very fond of his father, who nicknames him “Fairbanks” in homage to actor Douglas Fairbanks. André moves into his father’s apartment after his girlfriend, Sylvie, has moved on with her life while he was doing military service. Convinced that his chemical engineering degree can open doors and get him a job, he gets in touch with his former professor and friend, Étienne Lambert, who had promised him opportunities. But while André was away, the very unfavorable economic situation had changed, and Lambert’s promises of job offers had come to nothing. Soon afterward, André meets a friend, Jean-Pierre, at a theater. Jean-Pierre, a stage director, has just put on a new adaptation of Alice in Wonderland. During rehearsals, André meets Marie, an aspiring actress who works part-time at a travel agency. André and Marie hit it off immediately and fall in love. Although their romance gets off to a very good start, André still cannot find work in chemical engineering, and the trouble he got into in the army further undermines his chances. As his attempts fail, André, a naturally optimistic and cheerful man, begins to lose his illusions and his spirits sink. He is forced to register with the French employment agency and take odd jobs, such as working on a construction site, as a nightclub bouncer, as a porter at a railway station, or at a garage. André’s frustration leads to outbursts of anger toward Marie, who is finding the situation increasingly hard to bear. André visits his father, who tells him that he is going to retire—the cinema where he works is closing to be demolished and replaced by a multiplex—and that he is going to remarry. Sinking deeper and deeper into depression, André decides to leave everything behind and wants Marie to go with him. He goes to see her, but she is about to perform in the play and refuses to accompany him. While Marie is onstage, André bursts in during the performance and tries to take her away by force, but she manages to take refuge in her dressing room. In the midst of a breakdown, the young man tries to force his way into the dressing room, screaming, before he is restrained. Injured, André is taken away by ambulance. In his delirium, he imagines himself and Marie flying over Paris on a magic carpet, like Douglas Fairbanks.