Bernie (1996 film)

Bernie is a 1996 French film directed by Albert Dupontel.

Plot
It tells the story of Bernie Noël, a 29-year-old man who's been raised all his life in an orphanage in Paris' suburbs. He was found in a garbage can when he was only a few weeks old. His first name comes from the man who found him there (Bernie, the building's janitor) and his last name comes from the time of year when he was found (Noël, "Christmas" in French).

At age 29, Bernie decides to leave the orphanage to explore a world that he knows only through television and what his friends have told him. On his own, roaming a Paris-by-night hostile environment, he goes through several madly epic adventures searching for his parents, before eventually finding them and "saving" them from an imaginary government conspiracy.

This neurotic and maladjusted young man will bring mischief and mayhem in his trail, which will lead him and his loved ones to a dramatic conclusion...

Film info

 * Directed by : Albert Dupontel
 * Story : Albert Dupontel and Gilles Laurent
 * Dialogues : Albert Dupontel
 * Production : Canal+, Contre Prod, Kasso Inc. Productions, Rézo Films, Ulysse Films
 * Category: Comedy (?)
 * Running time: 87 min
 * Country: France
 * Sound: Dolby Digital
 * Language: French
 * Release :
 * November 27, 1996 (France)
 * January 8, 1997 ( Belgium)
 * Rated: PG13

Cast

 * Albert Dupontel: Bernie Noël
 * Roland Blanche: Donald Willis, Bernie's father
 * Lucia Sanchez: Maria
 * Paul Le Person: Bernie, the janitor
 * Hélène Vincent: Bernie's mother
 * Claude Perron: Marion
 * Roland Bertin: Ramonda
 * Catherine Samie: Granny
 * Alain Libolt: Dr. Clermont
 * Pascal Ternisien: Edouard Clermont
 * Emmanuelle Bougerol: Marie-Solange Clermont
 * Philippe Uchan: Vallois
 * Nicolas Marié: The Commissioner
 * Éric Elmosnino: the salesman
 * Antoinette Moya: the real-estate agent
 * Michel Vuillermoz: the transvestite
 * Loïc Houdré: the dealer
 * Yves Pignot: the orphanage's manager

Nominations
The film was nominated for the César Award for Best First Feature Film at the 22nd César Awards.