France | Belgium 2015
Opening October 13, 2016
Directed by: Gustave Kervern, Benoît Delépine
Writing credits: Gustave Kervern, Benoît Delépine
Principal actors: Gérard Depardieu, Benoît Poelvoorde, Vincent Lacoste
Come on guys, you can do better than this. Jean (Depardieu) is a bull farmer in a small village, proud of his bulls and proud of his farm. So far, so good. His son Bruno (Poelvoorde) is his bossed-about son, stomping around at 50 like an adolescent, long overdue to break out of his country-bumpkin life. We find the pair of them at a country fair, papa combing the massive bulls and looking around for his son on the sidelines. Bruno in the meantime is getting desperately drunk at the wine stands in the shortest time possible.
Desperate situations call for desperate measures. Resolute Jean recognizes his son’s spree as an inept attempt to finally get a life, and decides to give his son a real experience to remember. They hire a taxi complete with driver Mike (Lacoste) and set off for a week meandering through the wine regions of France. Wein, Weib und Gesang, or should we say Saufen. Drinking until the doctor comes.
What could have been a lighthearted French road movie ends up a little trashy and nasty. At this crucial point in his life Bruno is an alcoholic, Jean a former alcoholic starting up again. Tasting all the wines in France and flirting with all the bored and spaced-out barmaids in the region may be an experience, but probably not the one Bruno or anyone else needs. ()