Film Review
For her debut feature, Sophie Reine draws on her own experiences to deliver
a social comedy that is as heart-warming as it is funny, without once resorting
to the vulgar excesses and extreme cynicism that are becoming endemic in
French comedy at the moment. Prior to this, Reine has spent the last
decade gainfully employed as an editor on several notable films, including
Jacques Nolot's
Avant que j'oublie
(2007), Rémi Bezançon's
Le Premier Jour
du reste de ta vie (2008) and Régis Roinsard's
Populaire (2012). The influence
of Bezançon's quirky film is very noticable in this debut piece, which
offers a similarly affectionate portrait of a dysfunctional family coping
with the problems of modern life.
The curiously titled
Cigarettes et chocolat chaud boasts a strong
central performance from Gustave Kervern, a popular bear-like actor who brings
both humour and pathos to his down-to-earth portrayal of a single dad struggling
to rear two hyperactive girls. Kervern has distinguished himself as
a director in recent years - with such films as
Mammuth (2010) and
Le Grand soir (2012) - but
he is also a highly capable and incredibly engaging actors. Here, as
the slobby but affectionate father, Kervern has a made-to-measure role, but
he comes close to being eclipsed by his talented co-stars Héloïse
Dugas and Fanie Zanini, who are clearly destined for stardom. With
such a formidable trio of lead actors, Sophie Reine's job is almost done
for her, and if only a little more care had gone into the script to iron
out some of the plot wrinkles
Cigarettes et chocolat chaud would have
been an almost flawless first film. As it is, marred by just a few
disappointments, it's still a highly engaging piece - sincere without being
mawkish, funny without being crude. It's the kind of pertinent humane
comedy that we wish we could have more of.
© James Travers 2017
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Film Synopsis
After his wife's death, Denis Patar has had a constant struggle to bring
up his two daughters, Janis and Mercredi, by himself. Now that the
girls are 13 and 9 respectively, Denis finds he has more than he can cope
with. A devoted father he might be, but he is totally lacking in discipline,
and his disorganisation leads him to forget to pick up his youngest daughter
from school one day. The school headmistress naturally feels obliged
to get in touch with social services, who promptly send an inspector, Séverine,
to visit the Paters and assess whether Denis is an adequate father.
At Séverine's insistence, Denis is enrolled on a parenting skills
course, but when the father tries to put into practice what he has learned
on the course his ungrateful offspring rebel against him. With the
threat of legal action hanging over his head, Denis renews his efforts to
hold his family together...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.