Tanner’s first feature put an almost nonexistent Swiss cinema on the international map. The story tells of Charles De, an aging conformist who suddenly drops deep out of life and emerges a madman, in other words, a man “mad” enough to accept the world only on his own uncompromising terms. Dodging detectives, he joins a miniature anarchist community in the countryside; by the time the authorities get their man, it no longer matters. Many directors can capture the significance of political thought; this nimble, witty, lucid film shows that Tanner is one of the few who can capture its joy.