This marvellously warm-hearted piece of movie making is a delight. Directed by Dany Boon and starring Boon, Zoe Felix and the wonderfully expressive Kad Merad this was the most enjoyable 106 minutes I've spent at the cinema this year.
The plot at face-value is thin: a postman, having feigned disability to get a move to the south of France, gets found out and sent to "The North;" (Shock Horror!) Thereafter the film plays almost entirely on clashes and misunderstandings between the culture and the language of North and South of France. Do not be put off by this apparent simplicity. I don't think I've ever been in a cinema where so many of the audience have been consumed by waves of giggles born of recognition of the very human dilemmas, frailties and subterfuges the characters employ. The humour is not driven by juvenile in your face BBC3-style, gags but by brilliant use of situation and characterisation.
Somwhat alarmingly the rights have been sold to Warner Brothers for an english version starring Will Smith; I have a deep sense of foreboding about this.
Huge credit must go to the subtitlers who have the tricky task of conveying puns and wordplay in english and pull it off magnificently. You will not come out of the theatre feeling better informed, educated or challenged but for sheer comedic value this quite simply cannot be beaten. See it!
Thursday, 5 June 2008
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