On a très peu d’amis (1998) - film review

Ivan and Serge earn a living by winning prizes in ballroom dancing competitions at venues the length and breadth of France.  Their partnership is put under strain when one day an aggressive young man, Richard, with a gun crosses their path.  Seeing that Richard has a gunshot wound, Ivan and Serge decide to take him to some friends who know a doctor who may be able to help...

On a très peu d’amis, Sylvain Monod’s first directorial effort, starts out well enough, with the versatile Mathieu Amalric and Michel Vuillermoz forming a convincing yet amusing knock-about double act.  But as it progresses it rapidly becomes clear that this is a film which has no real idea where it is heading and what we get is one improbable situation after another, with the film’s comic strand rapidly dissipating.  The abrupt shift in focus in the last third of the film away from the two principal characters is perhaps the most irritating aspect of the film.  Such a diversion emphasises the paucity of character development and, more tellingly, the lack of discipline in both the scripting and the direction.

© James Travers 2003

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