Cigarettes et chocolat chaud (2016)
Directed by Sophie Reine

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.

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...