Le Viager

Le Viager is a French comedy film directed by Pierre Tchernia. It was released in 1972, adapted from a script by René Goscinny, the creator of the Asterix comics. Plot In 1930 in Paris, Dr Léon Galipeau examines 59-year-old Louis Martinet. Convinced that his patient has a maximum of two years to live, Galipeau convinces his brother Emile to use a 'viager' (life annuity) to buy Martinet's lovely country house in the fishing village of Saint-Tropez (at the time, St-Tropez was not the world renowned destination it is today). The 'viager' is a French system whereby someone buys a house from a person, repaying them by instalments until the person's death, only upon which the house finally transfers to the buyer. Thanks to Martinet's declining health, the Galipeau expect to not pay for long and get his house for cheap. Thinking Dr Galipeau is right, despite the fact that the doctor is always wrong whenever he says something (a running gag throughout the movie), Emile, under the advice of the notary dealing with the life annuity contract, accepts to index the 'viager' each year following the course of aluminium - a popular investment in the 1930s. The Galipeau believe that, even if aluminium's value goes up, it will not amount to much since they expect Martinet to die within a couple years. Despite Dr Galipeau's repeated claims that Martinet will soon die, as the years go by the elderly Martinet gets better and better, and the price of the 'viager' keeps getting higher due to aluminium's value constant increase. Finally fed up with this elderly who won't die and after seeing the annuity they must pay go through the roof, the Galipeau family (Léon, his wife Marguerite, Emile and his wife Elvire) decide to get rid of Martinet themselves.