La Vérité si je mens (1997) - film review

Jobless and penniless, Eddie Vuibert has the good fortune to run into Victor Benzakhem, a Jewish businessman who manages a successful textile business in an immigrant quarter of Paris.  Mistaking Eddie for a fellow Jew, Victor offers him a warehouse job.  When Eddie negotiates a good sale, Victor is impressed and makes him a salesman.  But soon, the two men begin to fall out.  Eddie falls in love with his employer’s daughter, Sandra, and, in an attempt to show he is worthy of her, he embarks on an ill-fated business idea.  When the scheme falls through, his friend Dov is there to help him out and Sandra still wants to marry him.  But for how long can Eddie hide the fact that he is not a Jew from his future bride and father-in-law..?

La Vérité si je mens was a notable hit for director Thomas Gilou, and was followed by an even more successful sequel, La Vérité si je mens 2.  As in his previous two films (Black Mic Mac and Rai), Gilou paints a realistic yet affectionate portrait of an immigrant community in Paris, tackling issues such as racial tolerance and social exclusion with humour and respect in equal measure.  Although not as pacy and as funny as its cult sequel, La Vérité si je mens is a well-scripted and engaging work that skilfully laces comedy with a dose of social realism, and there are pleasing performances from Richard Anconina and Richard Bohringer.

© James Travers 2005

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