Nous irons tous au paradis (1977) - film review

When he finds a photograph of his wife kissing another man, Etienne Dorsay becomes mad with jealousy and decides to conduct his own investigation, trailing his wife wherever she goes.  His three friends – Daniel, Simon and Bouly – are similarly going through something of a mid-life crisis.  Simon’s attempts to get married are repeatedly thwarted by his overly possessive mother, whilst Bouly is fighting a constant battle to keep the children of his many amorous liaisons.  Most surprising of all, Daniel – an overtly gay man – falls in love with a much older woman and decides to get married.  With their love lives in turmoil, the four friends seek distraction by buying a house in the country.  Unfortunately, even this decision proves to be a disaster…

After the popular success of Un éléphant ça trompe énormément, director Yves Robert reunited his four luckless heroes in this equally charming sequel.  As in the earlier film, Nous irons tous au paradis follows four very different middle-aged men who find sanctuary from their mid-life crises through their friendship.  Being a typically French sophisticated comedy, most of the jokes are in the dialogue, but there are also a number of brilliant deadpan visual jokes.  The film benefits greatly from a strong cast which includes Jean Rochefort (whose comic timing here is impeccable) and Claude Brasseur.  Despite the somewhat rambling narrative and an intrusive voice over narration, this is an enjoyable film which offers some succour to those who are experiencing the first string of the male menopause.

© James Travers 2004

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