Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis (2008)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Dany Boon

Writers:

Dany Boon (writer)
Alexandre Charlot (writer)

Release Date:

27 February 2008 (Belgium)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

Although living a comfortable life in Salon-de-Provence, a charming town in the South of France, Julie has been feeling depressed for a while...

Plot Keywords:

Bergues | Post | Post Office | Lille | Spoof

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Kad Merad	...	Philippe Abrams
Dany Boon	...	Antoine Bailleul
Zoé Félix	...	Julie Abrams
Lorenzo Ausilia-Foret	...	Raphaël Abrams
Anne Marivin	...	Annabelle Deconninck
Philippe Duquesne	...	Fabrice Canoli
Guy Lecluyse	...	Yann Vandernoout
Line Renaud	...	La maman d'Antoine
Michel Galabru	...	Le grand oncle de Julie
Stéphane Freiss	...	Jean Sabrier
Patrick Bosso	...	Le gendarme A7
Jérôme Commandeur	...	L'inspecteur Lebic
Alexandre Carrière	...	Tony - l'amoureux d'Isabelle
Fred Personne	...	M. Vasseur
Frank Andrieux	...	M. Leborgne (as Franck Andrieux)

Also Known As:

Welcome to the Land of Shtis (Europe: English title) (festival title)
Welcome to the Sticks (International: English title)

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | France:U | Ireland:12A | Netherlands:6 | Singapore:PG | Portugal:M/6 | Germany:o.Al. | UK:12A | Argentina:Atp | Hong Kong:IIA

Filming Locations:

Autoroute A7, France

Company:

Pathé Renn Productions

Trivia:

With 25.5 million euros, it holds the record for the highest first-week intake of a French movie in its home country. Former record holder was Les bronzés 3: amis pour la vie (2006).

Movie Connections:

Remade as Welcome to the Sticks (2010)

Soundtrack:

Le plat pays

Truly funny French comedy

Of course it's not a deep film, but nor is it pretentious. It might also not please everyone - if you don't want to have a good laugh, or if your French is challenged, you could find it dull. But true laugh-out-loud comedies that feel genuine and refreshing (like this one) instead of grotesque and vulgar are few and far in between. Moreover, and even more rare, the whole audience - me included - seemed to be howling in laughter, not just three people making a lot of noise.

While the pun is largely based on the local "ch'ti" dialect, it is not limited to it and humour works throughout, well timed and mastered by the actors. The dialect itself was ably used, and the audience are introduced to it nicely. Boon is wonderful, both touching and funny, and Kad Merad delivers a nice performance. More than the dialect or the actors, the region itself and its people are beautifully pictured, and the spirit is well captured. Clichés are used for comedic purpose, and are dispelled instead of being woven. Amateurs will also find an incredible short appearance by Michel Galabru (my favourite part of the film). The film never aims to be realistic, and never seems pretentious, but the feel of Northern France is genuine.

In the end, it is a truly pleasing film: funny, true to itself, fresh and nicely French (but not the part you are most used to seeing) is what you should expect.