Chouchou (2003)

A North African immigrant to Paris gets work and finds romance despite his scatty character.

Director:

Merzak Allouache

Writers:

Merzak Allouache, Gad Elmaleh (original stage sketch),

Stars:

Gad Elmaleh, Alain Chabat, Claude Brasseur

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gad Elmaleh	...	Choukri, alias Chouchou
Alain Chabat	...	Stanislas de la Tour-Maubourg
Claude Brasseur	...	Père Léon
Roschdy Zem	...	Frère Jean
Catherine Frot	...	Le docteur Nicole Milovavovich
Julien Courbey	...	Yekea
Arié Elmaleh	...	Vanessa
Yacine Mesbah	...	Djamila
Micheline Presle	...	La mère de Stanislas
Jacques Sereys	...	Le père de Stanislas
Michaël Youn	...	Le transformiste brésilien
Stéphane Boucher	...	L'inspecteur Grégoire
Olivia Dessolin	...	L'apparition
Anne Marivin	...	La vendeuse supermarché
Jean-Paul Comart	...	Le commissaire Molino

Storyline

Chouchou has just arrived in Paris from his home in North Africa. He is scatty and unworldly, and tries to get a bed for the night by spinning an implausible line about being a refugee from the Chilean dictator Pinochet. He is fortunate, because a kindly priest (Father Leon) in a working class suburb has some sympathy for him, and takes him in for a few nights. Father Leon also gets him a job with a lady psychoanalyst, Dr Milovavich, and the job is as receptionist and cleaner. Chouchou does the cleaning in a woman's dustcoat and when Dr Milovavich asks him what he would most like in the world, he replies that he would love to be a woman from head to toe. Dr M. is unabashed by this revelation, and tells him that from tomorrow he can come to work as a woman, Mlle Chouchou. He takes her at her word, and is startlingly convincing the next day, with good female body language, although let down by a marked dark beard shadow. Soon the doctor has to go away for a couple of days on business, ...

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Plot Keywords:

bar | immigrant | homosexuality | homosexual love | psychotherapy | 

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Taglines:

Le rencontrer c'est l'aimer !

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros [fr]

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

19 March 2003 (France)

Also Known As:

Chouchou em Apuros

Filming Locations:

Evry, Essonne, France

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$100,169 (Belgium) (18 April 2003)

Gross:

$24,924,968 (Europe) (9 May 2003)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Canal+, Fechner Audiovisuel, France 2 Cinéma

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Crazy Credits

Several deleted scenes are shown during the credits.

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Connections

References Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)

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Soundtracks

"C'est la ouate"
Performed by Caroline Loeb

User Reviews

neo-french movie style featuring A.Chabat.

"Chouchou" is part of those new french movies renewed up by some southern influences, but even though it handles transsexuality & homossexuality, the told story isn't very original, the " comedy " part requires the aid of the well known Yung & Chabat to give some energy to this movie. Still, we can underline the very correct acting performances of the main characters. The movie fits quite well in the entertaining-shirt. Not a high-flyer though.