Telling It Straight

I've always liked Gerard Depardieu - but he went up in my estimation the other day when he said that Dominique Strauss-Khan was 'smug and arrogant - just like all French people'.

Now this may make the star of Jean de Florette unpopular with his fellow countrymen - about as unpopular as a stranger with a hunchback arriving in small, tight-knit village in provincial France. 

But he speaks the truth as far as I'm concerned.

One of the bigger tabloid newspapers covered the story in the following breathless terms:

"But Gérard Depardieu, who is playing Dominique Strauss-Kahn in a forthcoming film, has stunned his compatriots by describing the disgraced former boss of the International Monetary Fund as arrogant and smug — before adding that French people were pretty much all cast in the same mould."

Well that's honesty for you - or maybe not.

Maybe there was more to this than met the eye - maybe the initial quote was been taken out of context and/or exaggerated for effect.

Apparently when asked why he had agreed to play the role of DSK in a film about the rape claims that led to the downfall of the Socialist politician, Depardieu replied:

"Because I don’t like him."

Before going on to add:

"He is not likeable. I think he is a bit like all French people, a little arrogant. Besides, I don’t like the French, especially those like him."

So there we have it - peace and harmony restored.

Since the French film icon was simply reserving special contempt for fellow countrymen - who behave like Dominique Strauss-Khan.

Which is a good thing to my mind.