Drôle de Félix (2000)

Directors:

Olivier Ducastel (co-director)
Jacques Martineau (co-director)

Writers:

Olivier Ducastel (writer)
Jacques Martineau (writer)

Release Date:

19 April 2000 (France)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

A tale revolving around the carefree and bon-vivant, Felix, who is content living with his boyfriend...

Plot Keywords:

France | Road | Road Trip | Garden | Old Woman

Awards:

5 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Sami Bouajila	...	Félix
Patachou	...	Mathilde Firmin
Ariane Ascaride	...	Isabelle
Pierre-Loup Rajot	...	Daniel
Charly Sergue	...	Jules
Maurice Bénichou	...	Fisherman
Philippe Garziano	...	Railroader
Didier Mahieu	...	Friend / Unionist
Aliette Langolff-Colas	...	Unemployment Secretary
Arno Feffer	...	Man on Pentatherapy
Clément Dupré	...	Teenager with Kite
Clément Révérend	...	Laurent, the Assailant
Daniel Lesur	...	Bar Owner
Antoine Marneur	...	Salesman
Lisa Guez	...	Little Girl

Also Known As:

Drôle de Félix (UK) (DVD title)
Funny Felix (Canada: English title)
The Adventures of Felix (USA)

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

UK:15 | France:U | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Singapore:(Banned)

Filming Locations:

Dieppe, Seine-Maritime, France

Company:

Canal+

French road movie plus search for the father

Felix, fresh out of a job, decides to leave his home and lover in northern France for a bit and travel to Marseilles and find the father he has never known. He makes his progress by any means available, from walking and hitchhiking to stealing (temporarily) an automobile. He is unwitting witness to a street crime and gets beaten up himself; he helps an art student do a drawing; and he helps an elderly lady with her bags of groceries. Both the art student and the lady provide Felix with temporary shelter before he moves on to other encounters, each such meeting being labeled as "grandmother" or "brother," and so on. Thus Felix acquires in essence the family he never had. An attractive young man of Arabian descent He charms everyone,

including a man who works for the railroad system. They fly a kite together and then have a merry sexual encounter in the bushes, for Felix is gay and HIV positive. But the viewer is reminded that this is safe sex when there is a brief disagreement over how to dispose of a used condom, a situation gracefully dealt with by the French creators of this really charming film, which moreover provides beautiful shots of different regions of France, from the shores of Dieppe in the north to the Mediterranean coast in the south, with mountains and flower-filled meadows in between. This film was a continual and delightful surprise to me, and I'd recommend it to anyone who is not offended by the gay theme underlying all.