Rire et châtiment (2003)

Rire et châtiment is a French comedy romance film first released in 2003, directed by Isabelle Doval.  The film stars José Garcia, Isabelle Doval, Laurent Lucas, Benoît Poelvoorde and Véronique Picciotto.  It has also been released under the title: Laughter and Punishment.  Our overall rating for this film is: mediocre.


Vincent Roméro’s skill as an osteopath is surpassed only by his talent for entertaining his entourage.  Outside of work, he devotes all his time and energy to making people laugh – to the annoyance of his wife Camille, who finally walks out on him.  Vincent is at first unperturbed by Camille’s gesture, but he soon begins to realise that something is wrong.  For one thing, the laughter that his antics provoke begins to kill those around him…

For her directorial début, Isabelle Doval finds herself directing her husband, José Garcia, in this dark comedy which explores the perils of self-obsession and the nightmare of living with a larger-than-life personality (hence an autobiographical element).  Garcia is known for his hugely energetic performances and here appears turbo-charged well beyond acceptable safety bounds.  He is excessive, expressive and funny, but the film doesn’t allow the sadder side of his character to develop as fully as it should.  Whilst there are a few moments of great comedy and some nice artistic flourishes (notably the bizarre neo-noir dream sequences), the film just doesn’t provide the kind of emotional journey we’re expecting.  Doval shows great promise as a director but there is a lack of narrative cohesion, and, despite some commendable acting, the emotion just doesn’t come through in the end.  Still, it’s worth watching the film for the scenes where Benoît Poelvoorde gives lessons in life saving to a clearly out-of-his-depth José Garcia.

© James Travers 2005

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