|
Overview
Les Irréductibles is a French film comedy-drama first released in 2006,
directed by Renaud Bertrand.
The film stars Jacques Gamblin, Kad Merad, Anne Brochet, Rufus and Valérie Kaprisky.
Our overall rating for this film is: mediocre.
Synopsis
On the day that his son fails his baccalaureate, Michel loses his
job. He has been employed at the same factory for twenty years
and now he has no job, no qualifications, no prospects. Michel
soon realises that the only way he is going to get another job is by
first passing his baccalaureate. So, he goes back to school, with
his friend Gérard, who is in the same position. Naturally,
Michel’s son is not at all pleased to find himself in the same class as
his dad...
Film Review
Renaud Bertrand’s brave stab at a social comedy would undoubtedly have
had much greater impact if it had focused on its central theme - a
middle-aged man’s struggle against unemployment - instead of attempting
to cobble together various half baked story ideas. This was
Bertrand’s first cinema film, and it shows. A great fan of Ken
Loach’s films, he had previously made several films of television,
which could explain why this feels painfully like standard TV fare
- a watchable but pretty vacuous comedy-drama.
Assuming you are not put off by the hideous theme song that companies the opening credits (and which is reprised several times during the film), you will probably soon grow tired of the abundance of clichés and plot digressions which weaken the central narrative and pretty well obliterate our sympathy for the main characters. Things take a turn for the frankly ridiculous when Bertrand starts to throw in some musical detours which serve no purpose other that to expose the film’s startling superficiality. This is a shame because the film’s basic premise clearly has some mileage and the performances (from a high calibre cast) are generally pretty respectable. © James Travers 2010 Write a review for this film... User Comments
What do you think of this film?
Related links
More French DramaRecent DVD releases |
Credits
Similar films:
If you like this film you may also like the following: Le Bruit des glaçons (2010) Les Convoyeurs attendent (1999) Le Couperet (2005) La Dilettante (1999) L’Ennui (1998) Les Herbes folles (2009) Mon père, ce héros (1991) Le Quatrième morceau de la femme coupée en trois (2007) Le Renard et l’enfant (2007) Se souvenir des belles choses (2001) Toto le héros (1991) Trop belle pour toi (1989) La Vie est un long fleuve tranquille (1988) Zim and Co. (2005) |


