Welcome to the Sticks (2008)

A French public servant from Provence is banished to the far North. Strongly prejudiced against this cold and inhospitable place, he leaves his family behind to relocate temporarily there, with the firm intent to quickly come back.

Director:

Dany Boon

Writers:

Dany Boon, Alexandre Charlot (dialogue)

Stars:

Kad Merad, Dany Boon, Zoé Félix

5 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kad Merad	...	Philippe Abrams
Dany Boon	...	Antoine Bailleul
Zoé Félix	...	Julie Abrams
Lorenzo Ausilia-Foret	...	Raphaël Abrams
Anne Marivin	...	Annabelle Deconninck
Philippe Duquesne	...	Fabrice Canoli
Guy Lecluyse	...	Yann Vandernoout
Line Renaud	...	La maman d'Antoine
Michel Galabru	...	Le grand oncle de Julie
Stéphane Freiss	...	Jean Sabrier
Patrick Bosso	...	Le gendarme A7
Jérôme Commandeur	...	L'inspecteur Lebic
Alexandre Carrière	...	Tony - l'amoureux d'Isabelle
Fred Personne	...	M. Vasseur
Franck Andrieux	...	M. Leborgne

Storyline

Although living a comfortable life in Salon-de-Provence, a charming town in the South of France, Julie has been feeling depressed for a while. To please her, Philippe Abrams, a post office administrator, her husband, tries to obtain a transfer to a seaside town, on the French Riviera, at any cost. The trouble is that he is caught red-handed while trying to scam an inspector. Philippe is immediately banished to the distant unheard of town of Bergues, in the Far North of France. Leaving his child and wife behind, the crucified man leaves for his frightening destination, a dreadfully cold place inhabited by hard-drinking, unemployed rednecks, speaking an incomprehensible dialect called Ch'ti. Philippe soon realizes that all these ideas were nothing but prejudices and that Bergues is not synonymous with hell...

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Plot Keywords:

northern france | drunken man | alcoholic drink | alcohol | france | 

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Taglines:

Über 20 Millionen Franzosen können nicht irren! [German release]

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Russia]

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

27 February 2008 (France)

Also Known As:

Willkommen bei den Sch'tis

Filming Locations:

Autoroute A7, France

Box Office

Budget:

EUR11,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$245,144,417

Company Credits

Production Co:

Pathé Renn Productions, Hirsch, Les Productions du Chicon

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The actual Post Office in Bergues is located at 2 Rue Léon Claeyes, which is not the location shown in the movie. The building is similar but with particular differences. Still, most of the set locations are accurate.

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Crazy Credits

after the movie, while the closing credits scroll over the screen, some outtakes are shown.

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Connections

Spoofed in Bienvenue chez les Ch'tites coquines (2008)

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Soundtracks

I just call (to say I love you)
Composed, produced and interpreted by Stevie Wonder
(from the soundtrack of The Woman in Red (1984), 1984)

User Reviews

I love this movie

If this film meets such a great success, it's just because people recognize themselves in those characters. Well, they are not politically correct (alcoolism) but in these days when life is so difficult for the middle and low class French people, this movie is refreshing and helps you forget everything else. It's also a great lesson of tolerance. Nobody should never have pre-built ideas about a country or an area and his people. Dany Boon describes the world he knows. It's the same world that a lot of French people know, maybe not in Paris, but in the villages, in the country. For once, we have a movie with real people, real life stories of simple people. And maybe people wants to see this from time to time, instead of crimes and violence. Personnaly, I think this movie approaches the Marcel Pagnol movies. Two days ago, 12,592,762 seats where sold. 12,592,762 people cannot be wrong.