Candide, or the Optimist of the Twentieth Century

Candide, or the Optimist of the Twentieth Century is a 1960 French comedy-drama directed by Norbert Carbonnaux, who co-wrote the screenplay with Albert Simonin. The film transplants Voltaire's classic philosophical tale into a modern twentieth-century setting. Jean-Pierre Cassel plays the naive young Candide, Pierre Brasseur portrays his optimistic mentor Pangloss, and Daliah Lavi appears as Cunégonde, while Louis de Funès takes the role of a Gestapo officer. Following the innocent hero as he travels through a world marked by war and authoritarian cruelty, the story tests his belief that everything happens for the best. Blending satire with drama, the film turns Voltaire's eighteenth-century critique of blind optimism against the violence and absurdities of the modern age.