Isn't it abundantly obvious that by this point Pierre is in an advanced state of physical and mental collapse? Yes, the clochard helps him out, but perhaps his motives are not entirely altruistic; perhaps he figures that it is good for business to have a stooge/fall guy for the comedy routines that accompany his begging expeditions.
As far as getting a job is concerned, consider this: In 1959 France would have been a virtually full-employment society. However, it was also a very bureaucratic one. Pierre has almost certainly been educated to degree level, and would find it difficult (because of trade unions protecting the interests of their members) to procure blue-collar employment (for which he would be thought over-qualified). He also suddenly finds himself homeless, and therefore has no fixed abode, which would make finding any employment virtually impossible. Any legitimate job commensurate with his education would require a fixed address, references and probably the passing of a professional examination, and at nearly 40 he would be considered rather old to take on. Also, the action of the film occurs during the French holiday period, when potential honest employers would not be recruiting. Consequently, vagrancy and low-level criminality are his only real options.
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sabika_25
10 years ago
Wow, that's actually insightful. Thanks!
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"C'est La Vie!"
"La Vie."
- Easy A
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Charlot47
9 years ago
Pierre does walk a long way out to Nanterre to try and get a criminal job, but even the crooks are out of town. As for the ending, does it suggest that he is lost in total self-absorption, his experiences having taught him nothing?
In his wanderings we see many aspects of everyday human contact in which he does not participate. We also see often the cathedral of Paris looming over him, but he is blind to its message, believing only in what the spurious creed of astrology defines as his “fate”. Do you think he will ever meet up with the endearing tramp Toto again?
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Khayyam1048
8 years ago
It is emblematic of Pierre's desperate situation that in search of any kind of employment he is prepared to walk to the edge of his known universe, Paris (i.e. Nanterre), and to seek work with the most generally despised elements in society (i.e. career criminals).
However, given the Napoleonic bureaucracy of modern France, in August even the criminals are on holiday!
You raise an interesting point - one which I myself had not noticed - concerning Christian symbolism in the film. I can only assume that voluntarism (the usual Christian message) is in extreme tension in this film with the (at least partial) predestinarian tendency of astrology!
Please refer to my earlier comment with regard to Toto, who may well be as opportunistic as he is endearing.
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