The Uncle (Spoilers)

I've always thought he is simply out for the money. But I think he functions, in the movie, as an antagonist for Arthur, so that we our feelings for Arthur don't become too negative. Does this make sense? Arthur ends up being the most negative of the 3 main characters, but because we see him abused and "forced" to proceed with the robbery that might have been only a joke or a plan that was never going to proceed, Arthur becomes more poignant than he otherwise would be. Or maybe I'm just seeing too much; after all, the overwhelming characteristic of the 3 is their charming shallowness. But I think it keeps us from disliking Arthur. Just a thought.

Arthur played at being tough guy. His uncle was tougher. In the scene where he throws Arthur against the wall, he says something that is translated to bad effect in English.

The English subtitle said that he had been in Indochina. But this could have meant that he was a typist in an office in Saigon. I picked up that he said in French that he had been at Dien Bien Phu. This was the final drawn out deadly siege that sealed the fate of the French. The war was over after that for the French. If you survived that, then you were a tough guy.

The uncle makes Arthur seem like a naughty boy.

What I don't quite get is the shootout. The scene is possible as it is played out, but not really likely to me.

Arthur is shot from quite a distance. Good aim. The uncle is a veteran of Dien Bien Phu but holds the pistol high with only one hand, both of which do not lead to accuracy.

Arthur is hit. Arthur is hit again. Then the range closes and the uncle misses three times despite his good marksmanship at a greater distance. Arthur must be a total amateur or worse, and with one shot, the uncle who survived DBP, is done in.

The dance scene, and the Louvre scramble, were infinitely better. To me, the movie was a bunch of disjointed scenes, some great, most boring.

i think this is how the story goes.

aurther promised his uncle that he would rob the house with them, but instead he went off with odile and franz. also, the fight outside the house, i think it was because he said he wouldn't rob the house with them at first, but he later agreed. or it might have been because he called one of them a madwoman.

Maybe Arthur's uncle gave him a deadline to deliver the money, that's why franz and arthur commit the robbery so soon and the uncle goes to the house and shoots arthur.

Basically, Arthur comes from a family of criminals. When they find out what he's planning they insist on being in on it. He lies to them and says he'll go in on it with them, and then he tells Franz they have to do the deed a day early because his uncle is muscling in on the thing.

So Arthur and Franz go that day and try to commit the robbery, but the door is locked. They run around and try to get in but finally give up, and Arthur tells Odile she better find the key so they can get in, and they will come back tomorrow.

Next day they show up early. Odile says to them "But it's not five yet!" This is because Arthur wants to get it over with and be out of there before his uncle shows up. However, the money is not where it was before, so they first have to deal with Aunt Victoria, and then search for the money, which takes up most of their time. Arthur goes back because he thinks he knows where the money is---in the doghouse---and he is correct. But as he finds it, his uncle comes out of the bushes, and realizing he has been double-crossed by his nephew, shoots him.

I think the point was to show that Arthur is the real instigator behind this whole thing. Franz seems more interested in the girl than the money, and Odile is naive and sees the whole thing as dangerously romantic. Arthur is all about the money. he's using Odile to get to the money.

You take that diaper off your head, you put it back on your sister!