I thought you would expect me to give you my (french...) impressions of the movie, so here we are!
The fact that the film is primarily set in Cap-Ferret, near Arcachon, south of Bordeaux, brought back some fun memories of my early childhood, when we would take the train from Bordeaux to either Soulac, or Arcachon, in the Landes, with the bikes fitted with little seats for my sister (who was born there...) and me in front of our parents, a very affordable version of a "cabriolet" (but not "convertible" as we found out when hit by a big storm after a day of wandering around the pine forests and dunes that are the hallmarks of the region...).
But let stay focused...
The film starts with a bang, and I will not disclose it, as it would spoil the story for you - but I wonder how it was filmed...and it is the start of the unfolding of the sclerosed frienship of a group of mainly self indulgent French men and women in their thirties and forties.
It is very well acted, and some of the portraits all along are really gorgeous (and I am not talking only about Marion Cotillard here...)
Some of the scenes are hilarious, most of them related to the host, incapable of relaxing on his holidays and searching frantically for weasels supposedly squatting in his holiday house - and I let you find out if he is successful in his search, and for once in a French film, the only sex scenes are only in the brains of the participants (or in the dialogues...) which is a welcome change! (or is it???...).
To be noted, the performance of Valerie Bonneton, playing the wife of Francois Cluzet ( on screen as well as in real life) the angry fifty something main character, quite amazing as a bored, loyal, and very smart housewife...
The film's pace is pretty good all along, but eventually lacks in depth, as one gets fed up with the self-centredness of the participants, up until one of them speaks out and articulate for all to hear the depth of the misery keeping all these people together - and maybe this is the message of the film, and maybe my own expectations were different, or maybe this is just a movie to pass a good wintery afternoon, which it did quite succesfully!
Your own opinions are welcome!
The fact that the film is primarily set in Cap-Ferret, near Arcachon, south of Bordeaux, brought back some fun memories of my early childhood, when we would take the train from Bordeaux to either Soulac, or Arcachon, in the Landes, with the bikes fitted with little seats for my sister (who was born there...) and me in front of our parents, a very affordable version of a "cabriolet" (but not "convertible" as we found out when hit by a big storm after a day of wandering around the pine forests and dunes that are the hallmarks of the region...).
But let stay focused...
The film starts with a bang, and I will not disclose it, as it would spoil the story for you - but I wonder how it was filmed...and it is the start of the unfolding of the sclerosed frienship of a group of mainly self indulgent French men and women in their thirties and forties.
It is very well acted, and some of the portraits all along are really gorgeous (and I am not talking only about Marion Cotillard here...)
Some of the scenes are hilarious, most of them related to the host, incapable of relaxing on his holidays and searching frantically for weasels supposedly squatting in his holiday house - and I let you find out if he is successful in his search, and for once in a French film, the only sex scenes are only in the brains of the participants (or in the dialogues...) which is a welcome change! (or is it???...).
To be noted, the performance of Valerie Bonneton, playing the wife of Francois Cluzet ( on screen as well as in real life) the angry fifty something main character, quite amazing as a bored, loyal, and very smart housewife...
The film's pace is pretty good all along, but eventually lacks in depth, as one gets fed up with the self-centredness of the participants, up until one of them speaks out and articulate for all to hear the depth of the misery keeping all these people together - and maybe this is the message of the film, and maybe my own expectations were different, or maybe this is just a movie to pass a good wintery afternoon, which it did quite succesfully!
Your own opinions are welcome!
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