Switzerland, 1977. Released from prison, Eddy is picked up by his friend Osman, who believes he owes him a favor. Osman therefore offers Eddy a bed in an old trailer next to his own, where he lives with his seven-year-old daughter, Samira. With Christmas approaching, Osman finds himself short of funds, in part because his wife is in the hospital and they have no insurance. Also low on cash, Eddy hatches a fantastic plan: to kidnap the body of the recently deceased Charlie Chaplin and demand a ransom from his rich family …

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What did Xavier Beauvois choose to follow up the success of his movie Des hommes et des dieux, Grand Jury Prize winner at Cannes in 2010, and winner of a César for Best Film? The answer is not heartening. Taken from a true but improbable story, the director has made a curious movie with no identity that multiplies plotlines and genres without finding any real strength. There are neither laughs nor tears in this fable that is half social criticism and half absurd, and seriously lacking in dynamism – illustrated by a seemingly endless scene in which the main characters dig up the body, only to rebury it again. Michel Legrand’s majestic soundtracks is oddly underused, although it highlights the fact that every now and then, someone was in charge of making this movie.