Jusqu'ici tout va bien (2019)
Directed by Mohamed Hamidi

Film Review

'Jusqu'ici tout va bien'  is one of the key phrases of Mathieu Kassovitz's acclaimed urban drama La Haine (1995).  ('So far so good', a man observes, as he falls to his death from a high-rise building.)  Up and coming director Mohamed Hamidi adopts the phrase, in a more humourous vein, for the title of his second feature, a lively social comedy that looks on the lighter side of life in the rougher suburbs of Paris, a place that has become a dumping ground for immigrants and social undesirables of all kinds.  Like Dany Boon's 2008 hit Bienvenue chez les ch'tis, Hamidi's film dabbles mischievously with the familiar stereotypes and clichés in its attempt to show us what life is really like in the suburbs.  It's a well-intended exercise in combating engrained prejudices that might have worked better had the film's authors shown more flair and originality, and been less reliant on cliché for their gags.

Hamidi made his directing debut in 2016 with La Vache, a quirky little comedy in which an amiable Algerian peasant goes on a tour of France with his cow.  By contrast, Jusqu'ici tout va bien (New Biz in the Hood) is a more conventional mainstream offering that strives to combine social satire with that popular mainstay of French cinema, the clash of cultures comedy.  The film's box office appeal is bolstered by the casting of two performers who are very much in vogue at the moment, Gilles Lellouche and Malik Bentalha.

Although better known as a serious dramatic actor (through popular thrillers such as Guillaume Canet's Ne le dis à personne and Fred Cavayé's À bout portant), Lellouch has had some success in the field of comedy, his biggest hit so far being Le Grand bain (2018), which he directed.  As the lead character in Hamidi's second feature, the actor shows his flair for both drama and comedy, by turning in a well-rounded portrayal of a small businessman struggling to adapt to life in the suburbs that is both convincing and touchingly humorous.  In this, he forms a memorable double act with comparative newcomer Bentalha, who started out as a stand-up comedian before making his screen debut in 2011.  Recently, he memorably co-starred in Franck Gastambide's Taxi 5 (2018).

Jusqu'ici tout va bien is a good-natured comedy that struggles to make much of an impact, other than fielding some fairly predictable gags to sustain a narrative that pretty well runs out of steam by the mid-point.  It is regrettable that Hamidi, an original and humane author, couldn't have turned in a more incisive commentary on racial prejudice in modern day France, but his film does redeem itself with some astute observations, notably in the interview scenes which show how hardworking people are barred from the job market just because of their social background and skin colour.  Lacking the warmth and originality of the director's first feature, this sophomore offering doesn't quite make the grade, although it handles its highly pertinent subject matter with somewhat more finesse and sincerity than other French comedies of late (Qu'est-ce qu'on a fait au Bon Dieu? (2014) and its shameful ilk).

Film Synopsis

In an upmarket area of central Paris, Fred Bartel runs a successful publicity agency, Happy Few.  To save on his tax bill, this enterprising entrepreneur registers his company's offices in the city's deprived suburbs, but when the fraud is exposed he has no choice but to relocate his entire company to La Courneuve, a far from salubrious district on the outskirts of the capital.  Naturally, Fred's staff are far from happy with this turn of events and it takes some time for them to adjust to their new unattractive locale.  With the help of Samy, a streetwise youngster from the neighbourhood, Fred and his staff are given a valuable introduction to the codes and customs of their new territory, without which survival would be impossible.  Before long, Fred once again manages to get on the wrong side of the tax authorities.  Once more he is issued with an uncompromising ultimatum.  To stay in business, he must recruit a third of his staff from unemployed youngsters in the neighbourhood...