The Married Couple of the Year Two

Directed by Jean-Paul Rappeneau, this 1971 French-Italian comedy-adventure unfolds during the turmoil of the French Revolution. At its centre is a couple hoping to divorce who get swept up in the upheaval of the newborn Republic, struggling both to survive and to sort out their marriage as popular uprisings erupt around them. The original title, Les Mariés de l'an II, alludes to the 'Soldiers of Year II', the mass conscripts mobilized in 1793 to defend the French First Republic against foreign invaders. Jean-Paul Belmondo stars alongside Marlène Jobert and Laura Antonelli. Made at a time when divorce by mutual consent was still unavailable in France, the picture also tips its hat to classic Hollywood remarriage comedies. It was selected for competition at the 1971 Cannes Film Festival and runs about 98 minutes.