The Law Is the Law
| The Law Is the Law | |
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Film poster
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| Directed by | Christian-Jaque |
| Produced by | Alfredo Bini |
| Written by | Christian-Jaque Jacques Emmanuel Agenore Incrocci Furio Scarpelli |
| Starring | Totò |
| Music by | Nino Rota |
| Cinematography | Gianni Di Venanzo |
| Edited by | Jacques Desagneaux |
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Release date
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Running time
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95 minutes |
| Country | France Italy |
| Language | French Italian |
The Law Is the Law (French: La loi, c'est la loi, Italian: La legge è legge) is a 1958 French-Italian comedy film directed by Christian-Jaque. It was entered into the 8th Berlin International Film Festival.
In the village of Assola, divided in half by the French-Italian border, the Neapolitan smuggler Giuseppe La Paglia (Toto) and the French customs officer Ferdinand Pastorelli (Fernandel), play a daily cat-and-mouse game, with Ferdinand trying to arrest Giuseppe, and Giuseppe trying to smuggle goods under Ferdinand's nose. On a celebration day on the town's French side, Ferdinand catches Giuseppe smuggling goods over the border and, after a chase, finally arrests him, consequently arriving late to the traditional parade, where he was supposed to carry the French flag. During the following reception at the Two Borders Hotel, which, as the name suggests, is divided in half by the border, Giuseppe, still under custody, discovers that Ferdinand was born, to an Italian mother and an unknown father, in the very kitchen of the hotel's restaurant. The kitchen is located in the Italian part of the hotel, so Giuseppe argues that Ferdinand is actually Italian and is thus not entitled to act as a French customs officer, making his arrest unlawful. At a subsequent audit with the municipal authorities of Assola, Ferdinand discovers that the man who recorded his birth, Gaspar Donnadiè, owner of the Two Borders, failed to register him in the right place: the Italian municipality. The same Donadiè tells Ferdinand that he went to the French Townhall because it was raining that day and it was a shorter walk than going to the Italian one.
Risking to lose his job, Ferdinand asks for Giuseppe's help, and is taken by him to the Italian side to apply for an Italian identity document, the plan being to subsequently request French naturalisation, thus fixing his position. But, according to a French politician, friend of his father-in-law, having become an Italian citizen will prevent Ferdinand from restoring his French nationality and will also render his marriage invalid and his son illegitimate. As if that was not enough, Ferdinand is placed in custody by the Italian police together with his first wife Antoinette, now married to Giuseppe, because under Italian law, which does not allow for divorce, they are still married and Antoinette is therefore a bigamist. Clarified her marital situation, her first marriage was invalid because of Ferdinand's irregular status, Antoinette is released. On the contrary, Ferdinand is kept because, having served in the war for the French, for the Italians he is a deserter. He is returned to the cell, where now he finds Giuseppe, who has managed to get arrested in order to not leave his wife alone with her ex-husband. Ferdinand, dejected by being called a deserter, attempts suicide, but is persuaded to desist by Giuseppe. He is then released by the police sergeant who, reviewing the case, has discovered that Ferdinand is no longer considered a deserter under the Italian law, but has instead lost all rights to be an Italian citizen.
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Wikipedia