Bus Palladium (2010)
Directed by Christopher Thompson

Film Review

Christopher Thompson first entered the world of French cinema in the late 1990s at the age of 29, co-scripting a film (La Bûche) directed by his mother, Danièle Thompson, daughter of the esteemed director Gérard Oury.  Subsequently, he helped to pen his mother's popular comdies Décalage horaire (2002) and Fauteuils d'orchestre (2006). Now, after pursuing a busy career as a screenwriter and actor for the past decade, Thompson fils makes his directing debut, with a subject dear to his heart: the rise and fall of a popular boy band of the 1980s.  Bus Palladium is a likeable film that shows some promise on both the writing and directing fronts but it suffers by comparison with other films that tread the same ground with more in-depth knowledge and sophistication, and it struggles at times to get beyond the merely superficial.

On the plus side, the film is remarkably authentic in its depiction of the 1980s, a much-maligned decade that is enjoying something of a nostalgia boost at the moment.  Sandwiched between the hideous garishness of the tacky seventies and the terminal blandness of the narcissistic nineties, the eighties were marked by cultural renaissances in many fields, most notably popular music, and Thompson's film vividly evokes this sense of renewal, carried by the youth of the day, in his film.  Unfortunately, Thompson appears content merely to play with overly familiar clichés and so, as evocative as the film is, there seems to be nothing beneath the surface.  The main protagonists (despite some very credible performances from a promising bunch of young actors which include Marc-André Grondin, who previously made his mark in the comedy C.R.A.Z.Y.) are equally shallow, and their trajectory too predictable to hold much interest.  Bus Palladium delivers a no frills eighties fix for anyone who needs it, but not much more.

Film Synopsis

Lucas, Philippe, Manu, Mario and Jacob are three childhood friends who have a shared passion for rock music.  They form a band and within no time the five friends are en route for stardom.  All that threatens their success are their individual aspirations.  They could well be the next rock phenomenon, but already the cracks have started to appear in their common purpose.  When Laura enters the fray, competing rivalries look set to strain the delicate equilibrium of the group further, until all of their dreams are placed at risk...