"Boudu is Michel Simon."-Renoir Simon is the archetypal hobo who, despite our spyglass/cineglass admiration, is about to throw himself into the Seine when he is spotted by a bourgeois, one Lestingois, bookseller, and invited into his home. Boudu repays this kindness by seducing the man's wife and daughter before packing it in again for his true calling. Yes, Michel Simon dominates this beloved film (which was, incidentally, a commercial failure on release), but perhaps, as Eric Rohmer has written, "If Renoir lets Simon/Boudu wander around free, it is because he expects pleasant surprises from him. He doesn't want to restrict the actor any more than the character. Also, he discovers in Boudu too much of his own philosophy not to let him speak as he pleases." André Bazin: "Boudu's charm lies in its glorification of vulgarity. It portrays the most blatant lubricity in a civilized and nonchalant manner. Boudu is a magnificently obscene film."