Charles, Dead or Alive

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.