Really Surprised!

Admirable film.

A Major Disappointment

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

If your starting point is a story so universal and hackneyed that virtually ninety per cent of your potential audience will almost certainly have experienced directly or indirectly one or more aspects of it then you need something powerful going for you before you clap that first slate. Charm, perhaps; yes, we can do charm; strong acting chops, yep, we got those in spades, excellent script, yes again, in fact Ivan Calbarac - who also wrote and directed another charmer, On va s'aimer, ticks all the boxes in this delightful film. Alas, it is, I'm guessing, more domestic than international so the chances of screenings outside France aren't that promising. To get rid of the story, Bernard Campan and Mathilde Seigner divorce at the very start and reach an agreement that the two children of the marriage will spend alternate weeks and half the school vacations with each of them. We see most situations from the perspective of the elder child, a girl who, in addition to dealing with the divorce also falls in love for the first time. No aspect of the story has not been seen dozens of times before yet despite that the film has charm to spare. The parents, Bernard Campan and Mathilde Seigner are superb with Seigner looking more like Ava Gardner each time I see her. Bertille Chabart is also right on the money as the girl and there is a bonus in the shape of Gergoire Derangere as love interest for Seigner. Although we're rooting for it the parents don't get back together, Campan enters a solid relationship with a girl half his age and impossible-to-please Seigner keeps on looking. Just like life in fact.

corny clichés supposed to mean "the drama of children from a divorced couple". Very machist, like when the daughter's monologue says: "She was a ..., so my father HAD TO cheat on her" (emphasis mine). Then she repeats the idea.The main character is Léa, the daughter. If you like what she says and does, you'll love the film. If you don't, as me, you'll loathe this film since the first minute. Chloé is his best friend, necessary in this kind of film. Maxime/Max as the male son is not very developed as a character but it's true, he's very young. So he misses his mum.Mathilde Seigner (Marjorie) has done good films like the sensible wife in "Harry, un ami qui ..." or Samantha in the hilarious "Vénus beauté (institut)" with a stellar cast. She also did "Trésor" (about a dog...). This film belongs to the 2nd category :). She's a neurotic mum, without any likable or interesting characteristic.François, from "Frenchman" among other films, is a bohemian dad, obviously this bad film's been written by a male, for he's the hero, and she's obnoxious without relief.Anne Charrier as Clara is one of the father's many conquests. All just as unlikely, like the beautiful and 20 years younger piano teacher (Pauline/ Judith Davis) who sleeps with him just after having met him for less than one minute. Maybe he's very handsome, I as a male don't think so but...Grégori Derangère as Jérôme does what he can with an unlikely character, liking somebody *Marjorie* without much ado. He "writes travel guides", so he's cool, handsome, has a deep, husky voice, and is even cool with her sons. So much she starts questioning him: Are you crazy, homosexual, alcoholic, drug addict, a murderer, attached to your mum, impotent, practising catholic...?". All at the same level...Keyne Cuypers is "Hugo", Léa's love interest. Has a bit of the androgynous look that's fashionable now. One of the best scenes is the school tour at Mount Saint Michel. For those of us not fortunate enough to have been raised in Europe, it's interesting to see what a nice treat a routine trip can be if you're at the right place :).Nicole, Marjorie's father, also has a love interest. This film is basically about it: Love and its everlasting power to inspire countless insipid films :).This film is sad for children, for the look like bothersome loads for their parents, who want to remake their lives, have their own new couples.XavissimuS (PariS)'s IMDb review is right that the film being on a short period of time and during the school/ holiday break change has importance by givig the "tempo" of the film. Music is all American commercial rock that is sometimes cool, other just insipid. Paris looks great, thou.

This movie was actually a sharing of similar experiences about divorce.But, to be interesting, the cast and the story needed to be good and I admit it was the case: the kids were cool and the parents were believable: I was a little worried about the mother (because I can't stand the actress) and I was delighted as usual by Bernard Campan, who can play everything in his unique and sympathetic way.For the story, the passing of seasons starting from school beginning to summer holidays is really interesting: you can guess what is coming and wait for the moment.As for the exchanges, here's a list of all details, big or small, I can relate: school, twin beds, the court procedures, the weekly arrival and departure, Christmas meal, the school trip, the lemon paintings, the plaster, Limoges, the new friends, the dinner, the mother Nicole, the life alone without the kids… The defect of the movie would be the absent family of the parents and the maybe too gentle relationship that still exists between them: divorce means something is split, broken; It remains a interesting french movie and a recommended choice.