Narco (2004)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Directors:

Tristan Aurouet
Gilles Lellouche

Writers:

Alain Attal (story)
Philippe Lefebvre (story)

Release Date:

1 December 2004 (France)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

Gus (played by Guillaume Canet) suffers from narcolepsy. He falls asleep all the time and makes dreams about supermen from comics (Van damme would play one of these supermen, a short & secret appearance). |

Plot Keywords:

Narcolepsy | Dreams | Tae Kwon Do | Dog | Coma

Cast

Guillaume Canet	...	Gus
Zabou Breitman	...	Paméla
Benoît Poelvoorde	...	Lenny Bar
Guillaume Gallienne	...	Samuel Pupkin
François Berléand	...	Guy Bennet
Jean-Pierre Cassel	...	Le père de Gus
Vincent Rottiers	...	Kevin
Léa Drucker	...	La jumelle patineuse
Gilles Lellouche	...	Le jumeau patineur
Jean-Noël Brouté	...	Le docteur 70's
Lionel Abelanski	...	Le directeur du supermarché
Philippe Lefebvre	...	Le prof de gym
Laurent Lafitte	...	L'animateur du karaté-show
Mélanie Doutey	...	La fille "moitié des choses"
Anne Marivin	...	La femme aux objets

Also Known As:

Narco: The Secret Adventures of Gustave Klopp (International: English title) (long title)
The Secret Adventures of Gustave Klopp (International: English title)

Runtime:

France:105 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Singapore:M18 | Germany:12 | Australia:M | Japan:PG-12 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud)

Filming Locations:

Chantilly, Oise, France

Company:

Les Productions du Trésor

Movie Connections:

References Lost Highway (1997)

Poelvoorde's search in mediocrity

Don't misunderstand me. I liked the movie.

At first I was disappointed. I was mostly examining the flaws in the acting , the poverty of dialogues etc. And then, I don't know how, I was enjoying the film very much.

The way I see it, Poelvoorde's evolution in cinema is always aiming to get closer and closer to the poor simple guy, struggling to get a sense to his life. In that one we have three. Two are best friends, the third is Gus' wife. I won't spoil the story since I think it deserves to be seen, but they managed to give a true picture of very particular yet totally second-rate lives.

Despite the apparent poverty of the situation (except in Gus' dreams), there's a lot going on, many clichés and references to Tarantino's movie making as well. And Van Damme is perfect: a counsellor for a dumb clueless guy who thinks he's the best karateka in the world. I think he's got his place there too.

Pretty hard to get a clear opinion on this, there's a lot of mixed messages ... Once again I won't recommend it for people used to mainstream movies.

I gave it 8 out of 10