French/Israeli filmmaker Moshe Mizrahi wrote and directed this adapation of the fanciful comic novel by Albert Cohen. Set in 1938, it tells the farcical story of a band of five French speaking Greek Jews who seek to have their status as self-appointed ambassadors of a Palestinian Zionist state recognized by the League of Nations in Geneva. The five are played by veteran French comic actors Pierre Richard, Bernard Blier, Jacques Villeret, Jacques Dufilho and Jean-Luc Bideau. The film follows their rambling odyssey from their native Greek island to Marseilles to Geneva, where they involve a Polish Jewish immigrant (played by actor/singer Charles Aznavour in their scheme. Among the five would-be ambassadors, Richard has the showiest part as the blustery title character.
~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide