Panned French film shown for free

One critic said Mr Lelouch is "in the outer space of pathetic"

Oscar-winning French director Claude Lelouch has offered film fans free screenings of his latest movie after it was savaged by critics in newspapers.

Les Parisiens is the first of a trilogy exploring love, life and sex, but has been described as "a pathetic comedy" and "indigestible" by reviewers.

Mr Lelouch, who won and Oscar in 1967 for Un homme et une Femme, wants cinemagoers to make up their own minds.

The film will be shown in 400 cinemas free of charge in France on Friday.

Among the harshest critics of Les Parisiens (The Parisians) was Le Monde newspaper, describing the 66-year-old director as "a cineaste whose hour of glory has gone and who today suffers from being left behind".

Chronic'art, a website dedicated to French cinema and culture, said the director is "in the outer space of pathetic".

"Not only because the film plumbs the abyss of lameness but also because this megalomania flows on to the screen with disheartening self-assurance," it said.

'Media storm'

The criticism follows the launch of the film at the Deauville film festival in early September, where Mr Lelouch was head of the jury. It opened across France on Wednesday.

The cast of Les Parisiens at Deauville film festival

"Confronted with an unprecedented media storm, and to also allow the public to give its own opinion, I am offering a free screening of my film Les Parisiens," said Mr Lelouch in a statement.

The director won a screenwriting Oscar for Un homme et une femme (A Man and a Woman), his story of a love affair between two recently widowed individuals.

The film also scooped the best foreign language film Oscar and the Palme d'Or at Cannes.

The following year he was again nominated for an Oscar for another love story, Vivre pour vivre (Live for Life).

But success has been sparse for the veteran director since the 1960s.

Le Figaro newspaper reported that Mr Lelouch was forced to put up the rights to his last 40 films to finance his Genre Humain trilogy, of which Les Parisiens is the first film.

In addition, the director will foot the bill for the free screenings on Friday.

"If the public likes the film, I'll be the happiest man in the world. That's the only thing that counts," he said.