At my time of writing ,4.9! Come on!
First effort by Charles NEMES,his movie does not deal with heroes; his characters are actually anti-heroes,who live a routine life as bank clerks . Jean-Bernard (Daniel Auteuil) and his cousin Pierre (Gérard jugnot) hold second-rate positions -they are afraid of everything in their bank ,mistaking the alarm system technician for a dangerous gangster ;small minds, nothing to attract girls,French John Does ,they share the same apartment where they eat ham and canned food .
These characters are in fact pitiful ,but the viewer can relate to them (aren't we sometimes like them?)The director does not despise them ,and even their cold manager (Jean Giraud) takes pity on them and they are granted a weekend in the country :their trip is disappointing ;even if the movie becomes for a while a road movie ,nothing changes: only the road that stretches out ahead and leads nowhere;and only one of them has got his driving licence ,and his driving is far from being perfect ;on their way back home ,they pick up a girl ,the only event of their trip .
Both try to seduce her,but they do not even consider themselves rivals ;one can wonder if the girl in the nude is reality (or fantasy?)In this apartment ,where there's a problem in the toilet ,where the only culture is TV,what can two guys with loads of hang-ups expect from a girl?
Even the ending is unexpected, but in that context ,it makes sense ;after taking the minor girl home,actually a runaway,they are rewarded by the father who does not show any gratefulness or kindness for the cousins ;he signs a check and leaves them with a cold "we've got nothing more to say " The movie abruptly ends : our heroes buy a washing machine .Period.Derision to the highest degree.
This little comedy was probably too realistic for its won good ;by and large ,the audience does not like to identify with these men in the street who look a lot like them,perhaps more than sometimes .
NB:a little problem :Anne Jousset ,who plays the runaway ,is too old to be credible as a teenager.
First effort by Charles NEMES,his movie does not deal with heroes; his characters are actually anti-heroes,who live a routine life as bank clerks . Jean-Bernard (Daniel Auteuil) and his cousin Pierre (Gérard jugnot) hold second-rate positions -they are afraid of everything in their bank ,mistaking the alarm system technician for a dangerous gangster ;small minds, nothing to attract girls,French John Does ,they share the same apartment where they eat ham and canned food .
These characters are in fact pitiful ,but the viewer can relate to them (aren't we sometimes like them?)The director does not despise them ,and even their cold manager (Jean Giraud) takes pity on them and they are granted a weekend in the country :their trip is disappointing ;even if the movie becomes for a while a road movie ,nothing changes: only the road that stretches out ahead and leads nowhere;and only one of them has got his driving licence ,and his driving is far from being perfect ;on their way back home ,they pick up a girl ,the only event of their trip .
Both try to seduce her,but they do not even consider themselves rivals ;one can wonder if the girl in the nude is reality (or fantasy?)In this apartment ,where there's a problem in the toilet ,where the only culture is TV,what can two guys with loads of hang-ups expect from a girl?
Even the ending is unexpected, but in that context ,it makes sense ;after taking the minor girl home,actually a runaway,they are rewarded by the father who does not show any gratefulness or kindness for the cousins ;he signs a check and leaves them with a cold "we've got nothing more to say " The movie abruptly ends : our heroes buy a washing machine .Period.Derision to the highest degree.
This little comedy was probably too realistic for its won good ;by and large ,the audience does not like to identify with these men in the street who look a lot like them,perhaps more than sometimes .
NB:a little problem :Anne Jousset ,who plays the runaway ,is too old to be credible as a teenager.
