Le Grand Départ (1972): Besetzung, Handlung & Streaming

Released in 1972, Le Grand Départ is a fantasy and drama film directed by Martial Raysse, running about 71 minutes.

What it’s about. This is the only feature directed by the famed French painter and sculptor Martial Raysse. In keeping with the revolutionary spirit of the time, the movie has no plot to speak of and appears to have been largely made up on the spot. We follow the cat man into a bizarre fantasy universe presented in negative exposure that reverses color values (black is white and vice versa) and written words. The cat man steals a car and then picks up a young girl he promises to take to “Heaven.” Heaven turns out to be a country chateau inhabited by several more animal mask wearing weirdoes...

Who’s in it. Le Grand Départ stars Sterling Hayden as M. Nature / The Leader, Anne Wiazemsky as Mona Lisa, Gilles Raysse as Caïn and Lucienne Hamon as Mme Nature, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 6.0/10, Le Grand Départ has drawn a solid, mixed-to-positive response.

Where to watch. Streaming options change often. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch Le Grand Départ page.

If you liked it. Fans of Le Grand Départ tend to enjoy Der Herr der Ringe - Die Rückkehr des Königs, The Green Mile, Chihiros Reise ins Zauberland and Der Herr der Ringe - Die Gefährten.