Bigorno (René Lantini) is one of Comica studio’s recurring characters. After smoking opium from a pipe his friend has brought back from his travels in the French colonies, he is gripped by hallucinations and believes himself transported to an oriental palace inhabited by female dancers. The draw of exotic destinations and colonial dream worlds are combined here in a situation often employed in comic scenes of the day: drug-induced delirium. While it is usually alcohol that facilitates these journeys, here it is opium that adds a novel touch and accounts for the nature of Bigorno’s dream, which represents an imaginary destination resembling no particular culture.

Carole Fodor