Workers for the Good Lord

A contemporary picaresque novel on a high level, in which questions of morality and society, desire and crime fight for supremacy. What use is a contemporary Robin Hood in the 21st century?

Fred and Elodie live in a slum district of Saint-Etienne. They are young and have a daughter. Fred works in a garage and a sense of generosity makes him give away the little money he earns. When Elodie has had enough of her husband’s inconsistent behaviour, she leaves him. Fred is very upset and decides to find her, whatever the cost. He robs a post office and flees with Sandrine, his childhood sweetheart who is still in love with him. While escaping, they meet Maguette, an African magician and son of a king who makes sure that angels protect them. Their journey takes them to the Luberon region, where Sandrine and Maguette teach Fred a lesson. Les savates du bon Dieu, a beautiful Marxist melodrama, is funny, ironic, tender, violent and rebellious. Brisseau mixes the great film genres with style and honesty: film noir, western, comedy, melodrama, political film, social drama. It is one of his most ambitious and daring films. Money, power and injustice – the class struggle is ubiquitous. Les savates du bon Dieu emerges as an route of initiation to Fred’s destiny, made possible by the love and education of Sandrine, his lover, one of the most powerful and beautiful characters form the oeuvre of Jean-Claude Brisseau.