La bonne année



La bonne année (also known in the United States as Happy New Year) is a 1973 film directed by Claude Lelouch.

Synopsis
Simon, a gangster (Lino Ventura) with his accomplice (Charles Gérard), prepares to take part in the "first psychological hold-up in the history of crime". Next door to the jewellers of Van Cleef & Arpels, on the Croisette, in Cannes, they find the shop of a beautiful antiques dealer (Françoise Fabian) who befriends the group.

The gangster and the antiques dealer fall in love. He is friendly but unrefined, she is cultivated and independent, but discovers that talking with Simon shows up her vanity, and she desires a simple and clean love. The hold-up which had been planned for a long time is shown to be more sophisticated than his methods of seduction.

Cast

 * Lino Ventura : Simon
 * Françoise Fabian : Françoise
 * Charles Gérard : Charlot
 * André Falcon : bijoutier
 * Lilo De La Passardière : Mme Félix
 * Claude Mann : Claude
 * Frédéric de Pasquale : Henri
 * Gérard Sire : directeur de la prison/voix commentaire TV
 * Silvano Tranquilli : amant italien
 * Bettina Rheims : Nicole
 * Georges Staquet : commissaire
 * Harry Walter : 1st inspecteur
 * Elie Chouraqui : Michel Barbier (non crédité)
 * Michel Bertay : chauffeur de taxi
 * Michou (cabaret artist) : Lui-même
 * Mireille Mathieu : Elle-même
 * André Barello
 * Norman de la Chesnaye
 * Pierre Edeline
 * Pierre Cottier
 * Joseph Rythmann
 * Jacques Villedieu.
 * Pierre Pontiche

Financing and production
Much of the film was financed by advertising, particularly for Van Cleef & Arpels.

Awards

 * Best actor at the San Remo Film Festival for Lino Ventura and Françoise Fabian
 * Prix Triomphe du Cinéma 1973

American remake
The film was remade as Happy New Year (1987), directed by John G. Avildsen and starring Peter Falk, Charles Durning and Tom Courtenay.