Why so much hype?

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

French filmmaker Claude Sautet has been hailed as an important sociologist in the history of French cinema. Most of his films are about French middle class where he has painted it in its true colors. 'Vincent, François,Paul and the others' is an important film in his productive career. It combines elements of gaiety with those of midlife crisis. The overall tone of the film is light with occasional moments of problems which upset the well being of the protagonists. Much of the screen space is shared by these protagonists finding a solution to their personal problems which include problems related to money which has direct bearings on health, decision to participate in a boxing match against a tough rival or how to deal with their women. As these emotions are shown from a purely masculine perspective, presence of women characters has not been strongly developed. Actors Yves Montand, Michel Piccoli, Serge Reggiani and Gérard Depardieu add extra life in their roles are troubled individuals who are not at all afraid to reveal their true feelings. As their anger and frustrations are revealed with a bang, it would not be an understatement to say that they can be found in other places too albeit with somewhat different traits. Lastly, it is important to watch the manner in which everybody understand that solutions have to be found as life needs to be continued at all costs.

Friendship and the way we relate to those people that have had a clear effect on us, fill our lives with a kind of well being, and to a degree, makes us happy in knowing they are just within a short distance away. This is clearly a story about how a group of friends go through a tough period in their lives. It is an ode by the director, Claude Sautet, that celebrate friendship, and to a certain extent, the intimacy developed when people have an affinity to care for others.Vincent, the main character in the film, is the owner of a small factory. His business cannot compete with larger enterprises. Times are tough, but he is a great boss with a rapport for his employees as well as a loyal friend to them. There is Francois, a doctor, who has lost his zest to a profession he chose. Paul, a writer, is suffering from writer's block. The three meet over drinks, playing soccer, and staying in close contact in good times and in bad times.The three men observed in this story are in their forties, facing emotional, as well as financial crises, especially Vincent, who cannot raise enough capital to keep his business afloat, no matter what he does. His wife, Catherine, has left him and now wants a divorce. Lucie who is Francois wife, is attracted to a younger man. Vincent's protégé, Jean, a factory worker, enters a boxing match at a disadvantage, something the three friends look at with dread.At heart "Vincent, Francois, Paul, and the Others" is an account about people facing a crisis, either created by what life had in store for them, or by the paths they followed in pursuit of their dreams. Loyalty is the bond that keeps them together. These are your basic decent guys anyone would feel blessed to enjoy. Claude Sautet's films examine those intimate moments among people that must face decisions that will change their lives completely, while getting the strength to face those situations with the support of true friends.The cast is first rate. Yves Montand, Michel Piccoli, Serge Reggiani, are seen as Vincent, Francois and Paul. It is a pleasure to see these three men, at the height of their profession perform a sort of choreography where they cross each other in small moments that are tribute to the way the men feel about the others. The women are less predominant in the film. Stephane Audran, herself one of the best in the French cinema, has nothing to play. Marie Dubois, her beauty intact, makes a perfect Lucie. A young Gerard Depardieu is seen as Jean.

I came across this film at the New York Public Library and was intrigued enough by the cast to give it a try. I was not disappointed. 'Vincent, François, Paul... et les autres' could serve as a textbook example of great writing and great acting. The characters are so strongly developed, full of the genuine complexities and contradictions that mark us as human beings. It's refreshing to find a film that is able to achieve this kind of emotional depth. All of the actors do great work, but Montand pretty much steals the show as "Vincent." Full of bluster and sly humor, you see his sadness and vulnerability come out over the course of the film, as several crises come together and almost crush him. In one powerful sequence, we watch and suffer with him as he spends a long, terrible night trying to get help from various friends to keep his business afloat, only to realize how alone he is in the world. I've seen Montand in several films now, and this one may contain his best work of all, as he shows such tremendous range as an actor.Piccoli also does well as "François," an intelligent and successful doctor who's grown cold over the years and whose frustration and anger build up inside him until he finally loses it at dinner one evening. Serge Reggiani, who I wasn't familiar with, does a great job as "Paul," a writer who can't finish his novel. One of the most intense, emotionally-charged moments in the film (and there are many) is a devastating exchange between Reggiani and Piccoli about "Paul's" unfinished book. Ouch - painful stuff. And a buff, baby-faced Depardieu shows early screen presence and talent as "Jean," an amateur boxer who has gotten his girlfriend pregnant and must decide whether or not to accept a match against a brutal professional fighter who seriously injured another amateur boxer. This sub-plot has an interesting twist and is handled well, as is the father-son type relationship between Montand and Depardieu.My one complaint is that the women in the film, who all seem beautiful and intelligent and interesting, aren't nearly as well-developed as the male characters, but, then, it is called 'Vincent, François, Paul...' not 'Catherine, Lucie, Julia...' For those folks who don't have patience with "slow-moving films," this one probably isn't for you. The plot is interesting and there are moments of subtle humor that keep the film from becoming too heavy with drama, but it may not be for everyone. An excellent work.

I can't believe there are no comments at all on this. I realize as well as anyone that art house movies are low on the totem pole at a site such as this where, not unnaturally nor, if it comes to that, unreasonably, mainstream fodder is the order of the day but I have seen sufficient comments, both favorable and otherwise, for French movies to know that there are people out there who both watch, enjoy and comment. Sautet himself has been well served via such titles as 'Cesar et Rosalie', 'Nelly et Monsieur Arnaud' etc to make this omission all the more inexplicable. However if someone has to start it may as well be someone who actually enjoyed, if not revelled in yet another restrained masterpiece. Once again the old creative team of Sautet and Dabadie provide a solid base for the actors to excel. Montand is, of course, superb. Thorough as ever he did in-depth research on heart attacks and when it came time to simulate one he scared the bejesus out of cast and crew who, to a man, thought he had really suffered a stroke. Non-French viewers will perhaps be unaware of any secondary meanings - it was made at a time when France was experiencing social upheaval and reflected this in the storyline - but, as with all the best messages, it is not necessary to be hip to social conditions to enjoy superb performances and great storytelling. Sautet is one of a handful of directors who seldom, if ever, make a bad, dull or uninteresting movie and this belongs with his best.