Mon frère se marie (2006)
Directed by Jean-Stéphane Bron

Film Review

This tragicomic portrait of a dysfunctional Swiss family struggling to present a face to the world that is the opposite to the gruesome reality is the first fictional film from Jean-Stéphane Bron, who has already made a name for himself in the arena of film documentary with Connu de nos services (1997) and La Bonne Conduite (5 histoires d'auto-école) (1999). Whilst the film is slightly marred by a tentativeness on the part of the director, which prevents him from pushing the drama into some interesting places (and hence revealing why his characters behave as they do in a more subtle fashion), it is a strangely appealing work which offers a depiction of a fragmented family that is both comical and deeply moving.

Stylistically, Mon frère se marie is somewhat uneven, constantly shifting its perspective, one minute farce, the next minute naturalistic drama, with the narrative broken up by inserts in which one of the characters 'interviews' the other members of his family (a device that is now used so often that it feels a tad clichéd, even if is used well). Fortunately, some convincing performances - particularly from Aurore Clément and Jean-Luc Bideau (a leading Swiss actor who later appeared in the similar La Famille Wolberg (2009)) - and a good script more than compensate for the film's deficiencies in other areas.  The film is at its most poignant and expressive in its moments of calm and reflection, such as the last few minutes of the film where the family, reduced to contemplative silence having been drained by the intense psychodrama that preceded, achieves some kind of reconciliation and unity. The film was later remade in America as The Big Wedding (2013), directed by Justin Zackham, and starring Robert De Niro and Diane Keaton.

Film Synopsis

For twenty years, Vietnamese refugee Vinh has lived with his adopted middle-class family in Switzerland.  By the time he decides to get married, the family has long since broken up.  His adopted father and mother are barely on speaking terms, and the relationship between himself and his two adopted siblings is uncomfortable.  When Vinh's mother, still in Vietnam, writes to say that she intends to attend the wedding, the members of his adopted family agree to put aside their differences and pretend to be the perfect Swiss family.  Things start out well enough, but on the day of the wedding, the strain of the pretence becomes too much...