Film Review
Director Nicolas Bary's follow up to his debut feature
Les Enfants de Timpelbach (2007) is
another idiosyncratic fantasy, this time adapted from the first of
Daniel Pennac's popular novels featuring the blighted Malaussène
family. Bary's penchant for weirdly overblown stylisation is even
more in evidence in this second feature, a rumbustious romp almost
collapses under the weights of its artistic pretensions and multiple
story strands.
Au bonheur des
ogres is feisty family entertainment, packed with visual humour
that can hardly fail to get a laugh, but you can't help thinking that
if Bary had shown a little more restraint a far, far better film may
have resulted.
Raphaël Personnaz makes a sympathetic down-trodden hero in the
Chaplin line, the familiar comedy stooge who gets the blame for just
about everything, despite his best efforts to make the world a better
place. Here he is effectively partnered with
Bérénice Bejo, an actress who comedic talents and sensual
allure have already been exploited in such mainstream hits as
OSS 117: Le Caire nid d'espions
(2006) and
The Artist (2011). The
distinguished Serbian filmmaker Emir Kusturica turns up in a substantial
supporting role, presumably because he couldn't think of anything
better to do with his time. The bevy of child actors are
typically (for a lowbrow French comedy) nauseating, although the
chaotic plot and needlessly flashy special effects soon manage to
trounce this source of irritation. Pennac's deliciously dark
humour somehow manages to get lost in translation to the big screen, so
all that we get is a somewhat muddled comedy that is too adult for
children and too childish for adults.
© James Travers 2013
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Film Synopsis
The Malaussènes are a strange family, and you might almost call
them shady. But, on closer inspection, they are a merry crowd,
with a mother who carelessly accumulates children as she leaps from one
romantic adventure to another. Benjamin, the eldest of the brood,
is the scapegoat for any calamity, but his life is far from
boring. Wherever he goes, trouble follows him, and he soon
attracts the wary attention of the police and his work
colleagues. To clear his name, he begins his own investigation,
assisted by an intrepid journalist, Aunt Julia...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.