Regie:
Agnès JaouiCamera:
Laurent DaillandActeurs:
Anne Alvaro, Jean-Pierre Bacri, Alain Chabat, Agnès Jaoui, Gérard Lanvin, Wladimir Yordanoff, Brigitte Catillon, Sam Karmann, Réginald Huguenin (meer)Samenvattingen(1)
Fabriekseigenaar Castello heeft het niet gemakkelijk in het huwelijk met zijn tirannieke vrouw. Hij moet voor zijn werk Engels leren en wordt verliefd op zijn docente Clara, die tevens actrice is en het behoorlijk hoog in de bol heeft. Haar theatermilieu haalt de neus op voor de geldzucht van de zakenwereld, maar ondertussen vieren jaloezie en haat en nijd er hoogtij. Manie een barjuffrouw, wiens relatie slecht te combineren blijkt met haar handeltje in soft-drugs. Cultuurbotsingen alom dus - het valt niet altijd mee om rekening te houden met 'de smaak van de anderen'. (A-Film Benelux)
(meer)Recensie (3)
I don't like contemporary French humor. These conversational comedies just don't do it for me. I love to watch Louis de Funes films, but this one is just beyond me. On TV they repeated several times how excellent the film was, how many César Awards it won (4), and that it was even nominated for an Oscar. I can't help but not like this film one bit. I acknowledge that the script is original, but unfortunately, the originality comes at the cost of dreadful boredom, which goes hand in hand with it. It's unbelievable, but it's true. At times I was looking at my watch rather than at the film. Yes, you can feel the director's passion for the film, but this approach seems to satisfy her more than the audience. To be honest, I'm not disappointed with the film because I didn't expect anything from it and this style of comedy doesn't suit me either. It's actually like I never even saw the film.
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A pleasantly morose comedy, it definitely won't make you laugh, but will surely raise the corners of your mouth. The whole thing feels more like a radio play and it would lose nothing without the image.
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I would not dare label this film a comedy, because it oscillates between several genres and, in my opinion, it is more of a romantic drama. The film deals with the problem of how possible it is to bring together professionally, educationally, and temperamentally different people, not only in terms of love but also in terms of friendship and collegial partnerships. It tells the story of how superficial our first impressions can sometimes be, and how easily we can overlook the qualities of the people around us. It forces us to think and reassess our past conflicts and relationships. This clever film with a well-thought-out screenplay is not superficially flashy; it is a seemingly inconspicuous European production that gradually drew me into the story and truly captivated me. The cast is excellent, even though the actors are new to me, although Jean-Pierre Bacri is a big star in France. Overall impression: 80%.
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