User Reviews

I saw this at the 2016 French Film Festival in Sydney.

There seems to be an endless supply of "middle-aged male fantasy / crisis" dramedy rom-coms churning out of France at the moment. They feature top-notch actors and gorgeous locations. This is one of them.

My theory is that what Anglosaxon and other men think (that their midlife 'need to find myself crisis' will be solved with a bit of dick action), French male filmmakers put on the big screen, to often charming effect. This is one of them.

The modern twist is that there is usually a sense of agency on the part of the women, so they are not necessarily victims. This is one of those films. In this it appears that the wife is also having an affair (this is revealed in the last part of the film).

I am not a French woman, but I wonder whether French women REALLY can move on so quickly and treat the brief encounter as just that - an uninvolving encounter?

The central character's marriage is long-standing, loving, and has reached a rather boring and humdrum stage, just like many marriages. Many people have affairs and fantasies at that stage. Its depiction in English-language films is usually a traumatic experience. In this genre of french films it is all matter-of-fact. Is this a true representation of French attitudes and culture. I am not condemning, just wondering.

The film is diverting for a couple of hours and has made me think about French mores and representation in cinema.

If pure entertainment on the gentle side is your thing then this is for you. Writer-director Bruno Podalydes has given himself a very likable leading character and, a la Woody Allen two very lovely leading ladies but possibly because he's more mature than Allen the ladies are Sandrine Kiberlain and Agnes Jaoui either of whom I would elope with in a heartbeat. Such is the esteem in which Podalydes is held in the French industry he had (presumably) no trouble in persuading the likes of Pierre Arditi and Noemie Lvovsky to sign up for cameos and if that were not enough brother Denis is also on hand. There's not a lot to the storyline and in one sense therein lies its charm. In what is perhaps best described as a rehearsal for a mid-life crisis Podaydes embarks on a leisurely journey via a newly acquired kayak plus all the trimmings - tent, primus, etc - where he encounters and enjoys a brief fling with Jaoui and returns to spouse Kiberlain. Probably lacks sufficient oomph for a wide release. A great pity.

I' ve watched this movie yesterday evening in a sneak preview (Little event in our local cinema - You don't know which movie you gonna watch, but get cheaper tickets) and went there open- minded.

At first I really connected with the main character Michel. With his love for his special interest, I thought of him as a likable guy. He is bored by his everyday live and suddenly finds an opportunity to live an adventure. His relationship with his wife Rachelle appeared to me like a deep, loving marriage. Michel loves her and it is important to him, that she supports his hobby and interests. Him having a hard time finally going on his trip all alone and leaving her makes him very likable as well. There were a lot of funny moments and than he reaches Laëtitias inn.

In the second act the movie got boring and confusing. Together with Michel the audience gets to know Laëtitia and Mila. Since their first encounter I got the impression, that Michel saw something special in Mila. The audience and Michel did not get to know a lot about Laëtitia except that her husband died two years ago. Half of Michel and Laëtitias dialog is about Mila and yet they end up having a love affair. They don't seem to connect at all and i was really surprised and confused about them suddenly hooking up at the river. At that point I really lost the connection to the protagonist. Michel is still somehow interested in Mila, he constantly lies to his wife to whom he were a loving husband in Act I and screws the hostess. I did not get to know why he is interested in Laetitia and vice versa.

The protagonists longing is to experience relaxation through diversity and that's why he goes on the kayak trip. I expected a lot more confrontation with nature and / or different characters which reveal different perspectives. But he sticks at the first inn and has a view days with this strange ensemble and nothing happens except him suddenly having an affair with the hostess. There are a few funny moments, but there a no profund dialogues.

If you look for it, you can find a dramatic arc, but to me the conflict in this story is really weak. I have been entertained only by the question "Where is this going?" through the first act and then to me it got messed up. There a many themes that are brought up and then get dropped without any solution.

The movie carried not a happy mood at all. It felt actually very sad, even at the end when you could guess that our protagonist found peace or whatever.

I forced myself watching the DVD on this repeated remark: "This kind of movie makes you feel happy". It didn't work for me. It felt like witnessing a boring, stupid, childish and pointless mid life fraud with his gadgets, showing the endless possibilities of being senile. Infinite. I suffered for twenty minutes when this quote of Evelyn Waugh hit me and made me stop this painful experience: "I did not know it was possible to be so miserable and live but I am told that this is a common experience." Well, you can see it on screen, now. Nothing to compare to « Idiotern» 1998 Danish Dogme film, brilliant liberating life lesson, and Mike Judge 2006 "Idiocraty".