After his earlier dark psychological dramas - Tiré à part (1996) and Une affaire de goût (2000) - the journalist-turned-director
Bernard Rapp makes a radical, and surprising, change of tack for his third film, Pas si
grave. Superficially, the film evokes the lightness and sunny aspect of Rapp's younger
contemporaries (Cédric Klapisch springs to mind). Indeed, the film has one
or two strong selling points - some pleasing comedy, some nice location photography and
excellent contributions from the three male leads (Sami Bouajila, Romain Duris and Jean-Michel
Portal). Alas, the film's charms are pretty well skin-deep - there isn't a great
deal of depth to the characterisation and the direction, like the script, feels lazy,
half-hearted and aimless. Whilst it is not as inspired and as satisfying as Rapp's
other three cinematic offerings, Pas si grave is still worth watching, as a light-hearted,
gentle reflection on life and personal identity.
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Film Synopsis
Léo, Max and Charlie are three very different young men who were adopted at the
age of five by Pablo, a Spanish immigrant. Pablo, an exile living in Belgium, hasn't
set foot in his country since the time of the Civil War, but persuades his three adopted
sons to go there to recover a cherished statue. Far from being a wild goose chase,
the three brothers have quite an adventure, thanks to an attractive surgeon Angela and
a captain in the Guardia Civil.
Cast:Sami Bouajila (Charlie),
Romain Duris (Léo),
Jean-Michel Portal (Max),
Leonor Varela (Angela),
Pep Munné (Ramon),
Pascale Roberts (Pilar, la mère),
Alejandro Jodorowsky (Pablo, le père),
Jean-François Stévenin (Manolete),
Germán Cobos (Gabo),
Manuel de Blas (Miguel),
Luis Hostalot (Le commandant),
Alba Delgado (La maîtresse de San Angel),
Diego Braguinsky (Le chef-douanier),
Johan Cornu (Le chef hooligan),
Toni d'Antonio (L'assistant studio),
Hugues Hausman (Le type à la moto),
Joan Manuel Gurillo (Le macho),
Rafael Pardillo (Un danseur),
Emilio Urbina (Un danseur),
Maria de Winter (La mère du type à la moto)
Country: France / Belgium / Spain
Language: French / Spanish
Support: Color
Runtime: 103 min
Aka:No Big Deal
The history of French cinema
From its birth in 1895, cinema has been an essential part of French culture. Now it is one of the most dynamic, versatile and important of the arts in France.
American film comedy had its heyday in the 1920s and '30s, but it remains an important genre and has given American cinema some of its enduring classics.
Science-fiction came into its own in B-movies of the 1950s, but it remains a respected and popular genre, bursting into the mainstream in the late 1970s.