Picnic on the Grass (1960)

Synopsis: An amused take on the questionable virtues of genetic engineering, the film stars Paul Meurisse as Alexis Etienne, a formal, upper-caste biology professor who is running for the "Presidency of Europe" in some undefined future era. He is particularly involved with the eugenic potential of... An amused take on the questionable virtues of genetic engineering, the film stars Paul Meurisse as Alexis Etienne, a formal, upper-caste biology professor who is running for the "Presidency of Europe" in some undefined future era. He is particularly involved with the eugenic potential of artificial insemination, which he believes to be the world's salvation. In fact, it seems to interest him more than his fiance, Marie-Charlotte (Ingrid Nordine), who is the leader of the national girl scout organization, and with whom he communicates mainly by video monitor. To make his organization seem less impersonal, he organizes a picnic in the countryside. A local goat herd, Gaspard (Charles Blavette), decides to have some fun with the presumptous intellectual, and summons the goddess Diana to incite a bacchanal. Etienne finds himself whisked unwillingly into the arms of Nenette (Catherine Rouvel), a buxom peasant girl, who agrees with his theories, wishing to have a child without marriage, and considers the professor to be a piece of genetic good fortune. While Etienne recovers from the effects of the party, his colleagues persuade Nenette to disappear from his life, and she agrees, her purpose accomplished. Yet, as one would guess, more is to come. [More]