Le grand soir (2012)

The film tells the story of 2 brothers. One punk, one salesman. The salesman get laid off, and slowly becomes a punk like his brother.

Directors:

Benoît Delépine, Gustave Kervern

Stars:

Benoît Poelvoorde, Albert Dupontel, Brigitte Fontaine

3 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Benoît Poelvoorde	...	Benoît Bonzini, alias NOT
Albert Dupontel	...	Jean-Pierre Bonzini
Brigitte Fontaine	...	Marie-Annick Bonzini, la mère
Areski Belkacem	...	René Bonzini, le père
Bouli Lanners	...	Le vigile qui 'fait'
Serge Larivière	...	Le directeur du 'Grand Litier'
Stéphanie Pillonca	...	L'ex-femme de Jean-Pierre
Miss Ming	...	La jeune femme aux cigarettes
Chloé Mons	...	La punkette
Yolande Moreau	...	La mère de la punkette
Gérard Depardieu	...	Juvénal, l'homme qui lit l'avenir dans le verre de saké
Vincent Tavier	...	Le client Grand Litier
Jacqueline Emptoz Lacôte	...	La cliente économe
Joseph Dahan	...	Le serveur La Pataterie (as Jo Dahan)
Théo Raino	...	Le client permanent La Pataterie

Storyline

The film tells the story of 2 brothers. One punk, one salesman. The salesman get laid off, and slowly becomes a punk like his brother.

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Plot Keywords:

public nudity | male frontal nudity | salesman | punk | pubic hair | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

France Belgium Germany

Language:

French

Release Date:

6 June 2012 (France)

Also Known As:

A Grande Noite

Filming Locations:

Bègles, Gironde, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

GMT Productions, No Money Productions, Panache Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Featured in Delépine/Kervern - Échappements libres (2016)

User Reviews

Suburban desolation blues - French style

"Le Grand Soir" (2012 release from France; 92 min.) brings the story of two brothers who couldn't be more different: Benoit is the self-described "oldest punker in Europe with a dog", living on the streets (literally) with no hope for any future. He has nicknamed himself "Not". Then there is Jean-Pierre, a mattress sales guy who lives by the rules and is on the narrow and straight. As the movie opens, we see the brothers having a "conversation" (both of them talking at the same time) with their dad, who owns and runs a small restaurant called "Potato Palace" ("La Potaterie" in French). It isn't long into the movie that Jean-Pierre, unable to meet his sales quotas, gets laid off, and that's where the problems start. To tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: this movie, directed by Gustave Kervern and Benoît Delépine, is a biting commentary on the suburban culture and society, where you don't or can't fit it if you don't behave a certain way. As Jean-Pierre falls deeper and deeper into the black hole of his existence, the movie becomes a suburban desolation clues, French style of course. The absurdities of certain situations have a definite French flavor to them. Not to mention that the movie features a number of French punk songs. I'm not a fan of punk, but in this context they sounded refreshing (as opposed to bringing the same ol' tired punk classics like Plastic Bertrand's Ca Plane Pour Moi"). Last but certainly not least are the brilliant performances from Benoît Poelvoorde (as Benoit/Not), and even better in my opinion is Albert Dupontel (as Jean-Pierre/Dead).

This movie is MILES away from your standard Hollywood, or even European, fare. Nevertheless, if you are in the mood for a quality foreign movie that is definitely off-center, you cannot go wrong with this. "Le Grand Soir" is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!