Cousin, cousine (1975)

Cousin, cousine is a French comedy romance film first released in 1975, directed by Jean Charles Tacchella.  The film stars Marie-Christine Barrault, Victor Lanoux, Marie-France Pisier, Guy Marchand and Ginette Garcin.  Our overall rating for this film is: good.


Ludovic and Marthe, two cousins by marriage, meet each other at their ageing parents’ wedding and agree to see each other more often.  Their relationship remains platonic until their families become convinced they are having a sordid love affair...

This lightweight romantic comedy was a surprising success in America, and was nominated for three Oscars, including – astonishingly – best film (although it actually won none).

The film does have some entertaining aspects (most notably Guy Marchand’s endearing comedy), and Marie-Christine Barrault’s performance is also quite pleasing.   However, it is overall rather a bland and formulaic affair, which goes nowhere near exploiting its full comic potential.  The film was honoured with an American remake, “Cousins”, in 1989.

© James Travers 2000

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