The Favour, the Watch and the Very Big Fish
| The Favour, the Watch and the Very Big Fish | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Ben Lewin |
| Produced by | Michelle de Broca |
| Written by | Ben Lewin |
| Starring |
Bob Hoskins Jeff Goldblum Natasha Richardson |
| Music by | Vladimir Cosma |
| Cinematography | Bernard Zitzermann |
| Edited by | John Grover |
| Distributed by | Trimark Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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89 minutes |
| Country |
France UK |
| Language | English |
The Favour, the Watch and the Very Big Fish is a 1991 comedy film directed by Ben Lewin, starring Bob Hoskins, Jeff Goldblum and Natasha Richardson. The story, set in Paris, follows the fateful meeting of Louis Aubinar with Sybil, who brings into his life her last unfortunate lover, the Pianist. The plot is based on a short story by Marcel Aymé.
Louis Aubinar (Bob Hoskins), a humble, middle-aged photographer, specializes in religious pictures. Louis lives in a small apartment in Paris with his psychotic sister, Elizabeth, who cooks terrible meals, including grinding an entire sailfish into paste. His employer, Norbert, a prestigious religious articles curator, has commissioned a series of portraits of the Saints. Norbert decides to discard their next project, John the Baptist, and move directly to Jesus. Louis, who is already cash-strapped, faces the prospect of being fired if he does not find an appropriate model for Jesus. Louis' friend Zalman is also worried, as he was supposed to have posed as John the Baptist for the cancelled photo, and now his flu will interfere with another job in film-dubbing that he counts on keeping. He asks Louis to do him a favour and cover his part until he's well.
In spite of his terrible situation, Louis agrees and goes to Zalman's job, which turns out to be voice dubbing for pornographic films. In shock, he takes his place near Sybil (Natasha Richardson). Dazed and traumatized, he inadvertently has a loud, intense orgasm, impressing Sybil. They meet cute, and Louis introduces himself as Zalman, to cover his friend's absence.
Sybil tells Louis the story of her last unfortunate relationship with a passionate but delusional Pianist (Jeff Goldblum), who worked in the same restaurant as she did. A girl having her birthday party at the restaurant offered Sybil a watch, so that Sybil would make the Pianist smile while he played. They become close, and their passion improves his playing, and by consequence the reputation of the restaurant. A Violinist begins playing at the restaurant, also performing passionately, and is attacked by the Pianist in a jealous rage which landed him in prison for three years, due to be released the next day.
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