Let's Talk About the Rain (2008)
"Parlez-moi de la pluie" (original title)

Agnes Jaoui plays a local political candidate Agathe Villanova, who returns to her childhood home in the south of France in order to help her sister Florence (Pascale Arbillot) sort through... See full summary »

Director:

Agnès Jaoui

Writers:

Agnès Jaoui (scenario), Jean-Pierre Bacri (scenario)

Stars:

Agnès Jaoui, Jean-Pierre Bacri, Jamel Debbouze

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Agnès Jaoui	...	Agathe Villanova
Jean-Pierre Bacri	...	Michel Ronsard
Jamel Debbouze	...	Karim
Pascale Arbillot	...	Florence
Guillaume de Tonquedec	...	Stéphane
Frédéric Pierrot	...	Antoine
Mimouna Hadji	...	Mimouna
Florence Loiret Caille	...	Aurélie (as Florence Loiret-Caille)
Anne Werner	...	Séverine
Laurent Jarroir	...	Guillaume
Jean-Claude Baudracco	...	Ernest, le paysan 1
Luc Palun	...	Didier, le paysan 2
Marc Betton	...	Horowitz, le producteur
François Gédigier	...	Le monteur
Bernard Nissile	...	L'homme du baptême (as Bernard Nissille)

Storyline

Agnes Jaoui plays a local political candidate Agathe Villanova, who returns to her childhood home in the south of France in order to help her sister Florence (Pascale Arbillot) sort through their recently deceased mother's belongings. While she's there, the son (Jamel Debbouze as Karim) of family maid (Mimouna Hadji) takes advantage of her presence and attempts to interview her as part of a documentary about successful women that he's undertaken with his film school teacher, Michel (co-writer Jean-Pierre Bacri). However, Michel's intentions aren't quite what they seem, as he's having an affair with Florence and hoping to persuade her to leave her husband. Meanwhile, Karim finds his own marriage threatened when his attractive hotel co-worker (Florence Loiret-Caille) declares an interest in him.

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Plot Keywords:

interview | mother son relationship | provence | love | immigrant | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

Studio Canal [fr]

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

18 June 2010 (USA)

Also Known As:

Let it rain

Filming Locations:

Avignon, Vaucluse, France

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$15,660 (USA) (25 June 2010)

Gross:

$106,093 (USA) (6 August 2010)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Les Films A4, France 2 Cinéma, StudioCanal

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

User Reviews

Once upon a time in the Midi

The story is set in a small town in the Midi, in France. Throughout the film, as the characters appear, they are revealed through dialogs they carry on with each other. So, as the film goes on, we have the feeling that things are rather stuck in this place.

Michel, nearly fifty, aspires to be a reporter-filmmaker that he didn't succeed to be so far. It is, actually, a clumsy, nonchalant guy, who doesn't do right what he intend to, and relieves his frustration smoking joints. He is divorced, has a teenage son with whom he spends a weekend once in a while, and is having a future less affair with Florence's sister, Agathe, who is married to Stéphane.

Florence, nearly forty, Agathe's sister, is married to Stephane. They have two children. But she feels miserable with her housewife life, along with a husband who has no energy to solve the shaky family financial situation. She seems to bet on her relationship with Michel to get free from her situation. This way of seeing the future makes her a kind of a bovarist.

Karim, has qualities that were frustrated by his humble origins and perhaps also because he lived all his life in a small town where the opportunities are scarce. He is the son of a maid (Mimouna) born in the Maghreb, and who works for Florence and lives in the house of this latter. Karim works as a receptionist in a small and modest hotel, down town. He is skilled in film mounting and tries to get free of his mediocre situation as a receptionist, working on projects of Michel, who rarely reach an end, because of Michel style.

Agathe, lives currently in Paris (she developed a career away from that Midi where things are rather stuck). She has a comfortable social position, and is successful professionally as a politician. She visits the small town where she spend her childhood, to tackle some political issues, and problems related with the heritage left by her mother. At the beginning of history, she looks like some one who is well resolved psychologically. But throughout the film we realize that this is not true. Her passage through the small town triggers the hole story.

Mimouna, mother of Karim, comes from the Maghreb. She has been working for many years for the Villanova family, since when they lived in Algeria (?). In the past, she babysitted Florence and Agathe who have a strong relationship with her. She lives apart from her husband who abandoned the family in circumstances apparently nasty.