Un Air De Famille [DVD]

An effective family comedy-drama with some very sympathetic characters. French cinema has remained vital by eschewing big-budget spectacles and doing smaller scale stories about everyday people. This movie is a perfect example.

Unless you speak French fluently you will not enjoy that movie. But if you do, you will appreciate the many subtleties this movie has. At first it was played in a theater, before going on the big screen. It is hilarious and sad, all at the same time.

This is one of those movies that you must watch at least twice to really start appreciating it. Great characters and wonderful interactions between them.

One of my favourite films

I borrowed the movie on VHS from my local library to "brush up" on my college French. (Don't worry, there are English subtitles.) The movie turned out to be one of the funniest and most poignant movies I had seen in a very long time.The movie explores a dysfunctional family, and what happens when they come together for an evening dinner/family outing: two brothers (and their wives), the tomboy sister (and her secret boyfriend), and their overbearing mother who is always making barbed, hurtful remarks (in the form of being "helpful" or dispensing motherly advice.)When they come together, all hell breaks out and the hilarity begins: heated exchanges, accusations, lie, threats, phone calls, etc. I laughed so hard and so much at this movie. It isn't raunchy Adam Sandler-humor; it's intelligent, sophisicated, non-vulgar humor. And it's refreshing.I felt like I was watching my own family on TV. Any viewer can relate to this family because the movie isn't about French families; it's about families everywhere, especially yours, and the writing and the cast are superb. This movie is truly great.

If like me you like French films, you will like this one. There is no plot to speak of and no time wasted in car-chases and violent action sequences. There is just fascinating dialogue and the interaction of intereresting characters, plus the expression of real emotion and nuances of feeling. There is an intimacy with the characters that is typically French and which the Americans rarely achieve. At the end of the film you feel you know and understand these people and are wiser for having known them.I loved the performance of Catherine Frot in the film. She was delicious and made the character of Yolande incredibly appealing and lovable. What a crying shame she should have shackled herself to such a self-centred, unappreciative husband. He was the luckiest man alive and yet too obtuse to realize it. How appallingly sad.The high-light of the film for me was the little dance Yolande had with the quiet,philosophic bar-man Denis, played by Jean Pierre Darroussin, who, revealing his kind heart, offered to dance with her when her insensitive husband refused - despite the fact that it was supposed to be her birthday celebration. Denis's skillful dancing surprised them all, and disclosed a whole new aspect of his personality. There is a touching moment at the bar when Yolande, suspecting Betty's romantic interest and trying to encourage it, says to her with a lovely winsome expression; "He's a good dancer." And at the end of the film when Betty and Denis are seen to declare their love for each other, she says delightedly, to the chagrin of her snobbish and spiteful mother-in-law; "You know what this means? It means he's going to be part of the family."

This is at the intersection of two genres: the family comedy with hilarious archetypes (the long-running "Everybody loves Raymond" CBS comedy comes to mind) and the family drama where closets are ripped open for skeletons to spill out (think "Long Day's Journey Into Night"). This clever film from a long running play makes you realize how much in common there is between a family comedy and a family tragedy. Some scenes are hanging in between, and you don't quite know whether to laugh or shudder. At the end of this movie, you have that sweaty-chilly feeling that the party has lasted too long, like at the end of "Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf?". Recommended, especially if you know French families.

A truly excellent film which is both funny and insightful. As always the French are the masters of capturing the subtlety and strengths of human psychology. Highly recommended to all who enjoy French cinema and the exploration of human relationships in all their guises.

Je me demandais comment il ce faisait que je n'avais pas ce petit bijou dans ma vidéothèque. Erreur réparée. À voir encore et encore.

" subtil gebautes Stück mit leisen Tönen "

Una commedie di costume sugli francese dell’epoca attuale. Per un bel momento di risata, di tenerezza, di umore, un divertimento sicuro ! A volte, proprio esilarante ! Niente sangue, pero parole e atteggiamenti possono fare davvero male ! Non mancare ! Bacri è sempre stupendo ! Se vi piace, nello stesso stile a vedere anche "Il gusto degli altri ".

This film offers sharp and snappy dialogue, delivered by a handful of superb players, in a dark and confined setting that mirrors the claustrophobic nature of their emotional lives and relationships. But it's tremendous fun and, as other reviewers have said, all of us can identify with the tensions and frustrations that exist in families, and all of us recognise that from time to time, those emotions can burst forth in ways that are sometimes cruel and sometimes simply ridiculous.It's a superbly crafted movie and the director handles every scene with consummate skill. Even the dog, Caruso, paralysed though he is (that's part of the story) makes a flawless contribution.

Petit film merveilleux qui vieillit bien. C'est ce film qui a permis de découvrir Catherine Frot et le couple Jaoui/Bakri. Tous d'excellents comédiens qui avaient déjà joué cette pièce depuis sa création.