Film Review
The beauty of this film lies not in its plot (which is as old as the hills) or the quality
of the acting (which is good, but not exceptional) - but in its use of typically French
humour.
The film begins by contrasting two completely different families. There is first
the contented, bourgeois family, where children dutifully obey their parents and sing
happy-clappy songs beside their church minister. Then there is the poor family living
in a cramped flat, subsisting off benefits - the father is bitter and crude, the mother
is vulgar, and the children undisciplined louts. Both families are equally repulsive
and equally comic. Then something happens - both families have a child which does
not belong to them. The poor family is quick to capitalise on the situation whilst
the rich family see this as a chance to do some moral good.
Although the film veers dangerously close to caricature, it is nonetheless an entertaining
and perceptive satire on modern society. The humour is very much tongue-in-cheek
but is nonetheless very effective. The films works because it conforms to our simple-minded
view of the world - certainly our view of how the upper middle classes and lower lower
classes live - and plays with our expectations and assumptions.
This is not a profound film, and the ending is a little lame, but it has some deliciously
funny moments and, overall, it is a delicious piece of satire.
© James Travers 2000
The above content is owned by frenchfilms.org and must not be copied.
Next Étienne Chatiliez film:
Tatie Danielle (1990)
Film Synopsis
When she breaks up with her boyfriend, a paediatric surgeon, a nurse reveals that, twelve
years ago, she switched two babies just after their birth. One of the babies belongs
to a wealthy middle-class family, the other to a poor family living on a housing estate.
When the families learn the news, the poorer family agrees to hand over their son to the
other, for a fee. The new arrival in the middle-class family soon begins to upset
their calm bourgeois life-style...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by frenchfilms.org and must not be copied.