Je préfère qu'on reste amis (2005) Directed by Olivier Nakache, Eric Toledano
Comedy / Drama / Romance
Film Review
This entertaining comedy-drama (a pleasing mix of rom-com and buddy
movie) marks the promising directorial debut of a talented duo, Olivier
Nakache and Eric Toledano, who had previously made just a handful of
short films. It's an amusing yet rather poignant account of
a problem which is affecting an increasing number of people - how to
find a life-long partner in a world where personal relationships are
harder to initiate and even harder to sustain. The film
isn't perfect - it is uneven and at times annoyingly repetitive - but
the convincing (and enjoyable) performances from Jean-Paul Rouve and
Gérard Depardieu sustain our interest and paint a
tragicomic picture of twenty-first century life that is amusing yet
horribly true to life.
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Film Synopsis
Thirty-something and chronically lacking in self-confidence, IT expert
Claude Mendelbaum pines in solitude for the soul mate he knows he will
never have. He once had a girlfriend, but that relationship
ended some time ago, and in doing so virtually destroyed the last
vestiges of his stunted self-esteem. Then Claude meets Serge who,
twenty years older, divorced and saddled with two young daughters, is
in the same situation as he is. But whereas Claude is timidity
personified, Serge is outgoing to the point of Don Juan bravado, always
armed with a seductive smile and the appropriate chat-up
line. Serge takes Claude under his wing and sets about
helping him in his search for his ideal partner. Mission
impossible, some might think...
In the 1920s French cinema was at its most varied and stylish - witness the achievements of Abel Gance, Marcel L'Herbier, Jean Epstein and Jacques Feyder.
In the 1940s, the shadowy, skewed visual style of 1920s German expressionism was taken up by directors of American thrillers and psychological dramas, creating that distinctive film noir look.
It was American film noir and pulp fiction that kick-started the craze for thrillers in 1950s France and made it one of the most popular and enduring genres.
A wave of fresh talent in the late 1950s, early 1960s brought about a dramatic renaissance in French cinema, placing the auteur at the core of France's 7th art.