Summary
In the summer holidays, a group of women stay behind in Paris whilst their husbands and
children take a vacation on the sunny Island of Ré. Whilst the women – wives,
frustrated spinsters and adolescents – profit from their new-found freedom to sort out
their love lives, the men indulge their earthy passions with no less enthusiasm.
Only the children seems capable of rising above this infantile summer madness...
Review
Adults behaving like children, children behaving like adults... This seems to be a recurring
theme in the cinema of director Pascal Thomas, the best example probably being his more
recent Mercredi folle journée!
(2001). Thomas’ tongue-in-cheek, closely observed comic situations abound
in this loosely structured romantic comedy which includes some hilarious (albeit somewhat
artificial) sequences.
Pascal Thomas’ films have a tendency to cram too much into a relatively small space, and this is perhaps the most noticeable feature of Les Maris, les femmes, les amants. With so many characters and so many concurrent story lines, this is a very difficult film to keep up with, and the fact there is no clear focus or central theme greatly diminishes the pleasure of watching the film. Thomas’ subsequent films are just as energetic as this but are far more watchable because there is a more structured narrative, which allows the audience to be better engaged with the film.
© James Travers 2002
Write a review for this film...
Pascal Thomas’ films have a tendency to cram too much into a relatively small space, and this is perhaps the most noticeable feature of Les Maris, les femmes, les amants. With so many characters and so many concurrent story lines, this is a very difficult film to keep up with, and the fact there is no clear focus or central theme greatly diminishes the pleasure of watching the film. Thomas’ subsequent films are just as energetic as this but are far more watchable because there is a more structured narrative, which allows the audience to be better engaged with the film.
© James Travers 2002
Write a review for this film...
User Comments
Useful links
- Best French films of 2011
- Best French films of the 2000s
- Best of the French New Wave
- Best of French film comedy
- The best 100 French films
- The most successful French films
- Great French filmmakers
Related links
- The best French comedy-dramas
- Other French films of the 1980s
- The best French films of the 1980s
- Other French comedy-dramas
- Biography and films of Pascal Thomas
To buy this film
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Credits
- Director: Pascal Thomas
- Script: Pascal Thomas and François Caviglioli
- Photo: Renan Pollès
- Music: Marine Rosier
- Cast: Jean-François Stévenin (Martin), Susan Moncur (Dora), Clément Thomas (Clément), Emilie Thomas (Émilie), Michel Robin (Tocanier), Catherine Jacob (Marie-Françoise Tocanier), Daniel Ceccaldi (Jacques), Anne Guinou (Jacqueline), Pierre Jean (Michel), Damien Morel (Stef), Ludivine Sagnier (Élodie), Guy Marchand (Bruno)
- Country: France
- Language: French
- Runtime: 117 min
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Comedy / Drama


