Film Review
Les Seigneurs marks an
unexpected detour for director Olivier Dahan, into the arena of
mainstream comedy. Dahan is best known for his Oscar-winning
Edith Piaf biopic
La Môme (2007), although
most of his work has been of a much darker hue, ranging from the bleak
road movie
La Vie promise (2002) to the
gory action thriller
Les Rivières pourpres II
(2004). Now seeking to broaden his repertoire, Dahan attempts a
populist comedy on France's national sport and will doubtless achieve
another box office hit, badly compromising his credibility
as a serious filmmaker as he does so.
The film is certainly not one of Dahan's best, although it has slightly
more appeal than Fabien Onteniente's football-related disaster
3
zéros (2002). A lowbrow comedy that is content
to go after easy laughs (and hammer them to death when it finds them), it
resorts to asinine caricature of the worst
kind and offers only the vaguest approximation to a coherent
narrative. In many ways it resembles those aimless comedies that
were so popular in France in 1970s, such as the ones made by the comedy
team
Les Charlots, although
it has far less charm. The starry cast who lend their talents to
this fiasco look as if they at least are having a good time, but the
abundance of so many big name actors merely drives home the point that
is trite populist pap for the masses, not entertainment for a more
discerning audience.
© James Travers 2012
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Next Olivier Dahan film:
Déjà mort (1998)
Film Synopsis
Patrick Orbéra was once a star football player. Now in his
fifties, he is a sad wreck of a man. Unemployed, alcoholic and
penniless, he isn't able to see his daughter Laura. He has no
choice but to accept a job as a football coach on a small Breton
island. If the team wins its next three matches, it will be able
to raise enough money to save the canning factory which provides work
for half of the island's population. Patrick has the challenge of
his career - to take a motley collection of fishermen and convert them
into a professional football team...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.