Have you ever had to deliver a car long distance to someone? I did it once with a pal who had to take an SUV up the east coast to his brother. It’s a strange feeling of adventure since it’s not your car so you can’t get completely comfortable in it. Also there’s an odd knowledge that you’re not going to drive it back home. In our case, we took a passenger train for the return trip. This experience helped me have a slight sensation of familiarity when watching the French movie Fill ‘Er Up with Super (Le Plein de Super). The movie came out in 1976 and doesn’t appear to have been an art house hit at the time. But over the decades this journey of four men has gained a reputation as one of the finest films of the era.
Klouk (Da Vinci Code‘s Bernard Crombey) works at a car dealership in Lille that specializes in imports. While he was expecting a vacation with his family, he is forced to deliver an American Chevy Caprice station wagon to the buyer on the French Riveria. Instead of taking the cross-country trip alone, he talks his pal Philippe (Xavier Saint-Macary) into the shotgun position. The pal needs a pick me up after preparing a patient for a trip to the morgue. The two have a bit of craziness as they spend more time on the road. Even though they are driving someone else’s car, they get rather comfortable enough that they offer a ride to Charles (Etienne Chicot) who brings along his pal Daniel (Cold Moon‘s Patrick Bouchitey). This quickly becomes less about delivering a car that taking a journey. During a meal at a restaurant-motel, one of the guys realizes he’s broke. He ends up hustling another customer to get paid to cover the coffee cost. During the ride one of them mentions he’s sterile, but his wife wants a baby. He asks if anyone is interested in knocking up his wife. There’s a bit of a fight during one stop. As they get close to their destination, one of the riders drops by a familiar house. The biggest mystery is if they’ll ever deliver the car to the real owner.
Fill ‘Er Up with Super was a collaboration between director Alain Cavalier and his cast. They improvised dialogue and scenes for months before they hit the road to make the film. This creative process makes the movie feel like it’s just happening before us. The movie is lets us see how messed up the characters are as the ride progresses. There’s a fear that a few of them don’t want to figure out a way to get home after they reach the destination. It’s a movie that you can easily think is a bit of a documentary as it meanders a bit while still taking us in the director on the Riviera. The choice of a station wagon makes things seem a bit normal instead of sticking them all in an expensive sports car that everyone around would envy. They’re just four guys on the road in the same kind of Caprice Classic that your friend’s mom might have driven to the Piggly Wiggly. Fill ‘Er Up With Super will make you want to get lost on that same French roads.
The video is 1.78:1 anamorphic. The 2K restoration of the film is from the original negative. The movie looks great as they cut through so many parts of France including Paris. It’s a wonderful travelogue. The audio is an uncompressed LPCM stereo track. The movie is subtitles in English.
Friends First and Foremost: An interview with Bernard Crombey (27:38) has the star get into his time on the film with such a collaboration process between the director and his co-stars. They didn’t have much a background in screenwriting, but for six months they worked away. He sees the adventure in so many aspects of the movie.
Three interview short films reunite the cast in 2011 with the director. My Wife Lives in Fear (4:30) with Etienne Chicot, Bernard Crombey and Patrick Bouchitey, It’s a Full House (6:09) with Bernard Crombey and The King of the Bottle (8:33) with Patrick Bouchitey. Not sure if Cavalier was working on a new feature or just enjoying spending a little time with his actors in short collaboration.
An appreciation of Fill ‘Er Up with Super (27:37) by Cahiers du Cinema deputy editor Charlotte Garson. She gets into how when she watches the movie see sees how it is of its time, but a bit transcendent. She like the darkness with the comic element. There’s a bit of talk about Cavalier’s career and the impact of Fill ‘Er Up With Super.
Limited Edition booklet with an essay by author Murielle Joudet, a recent article and part of an interview with director Cavalier.
Radiance Films presents Fill ‘Er Up With Super. Directed by Alain Cavalier. Screenplay by Alain Cavalier, Xavier Saint-Macary, Etienne Chicot, Bernard Crombey and Patrick Bouchitey. Starring Xavier Saint-Macary, Etienne Chicot, Bernard Crombey and Patrick Bouchitey. Running Time: 96 minutes. Rating: Unrated. Release Date: March 7, 2023.
