King of Hearts

This satirical look at the absurdities of war—one of the most popular foreign films in history—is about a Scottish soldier, Private Charles Plumpick (Alan Bates, Zorba the Greek), who is sent on a secret mission to a village in the French countryside to diffuse a bomb set by the retreating Germans in an attempt to destroy the entire town—and everyone in it. After a massive evacuation, the town is left with no one but the discarded residents of the local psychiatric institute who break free and assume the roles of figures in the village, unbeknownst to Plumpick. Through a series of comical misunderstandings, the “villagers” crown Plumpick their new king. As the mission’s importance hangs over his head, Plumpick starts to prefer the insanity in the village to the insanity of the war. Funny and memorable, King of Hearts is now back in a gorgeous new 4K restoration 50 years after its original release.

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