France 2021
Opening May 12, 2022

Directed by: Nicolas Cuche
Writing credits: Nicolas Cuche, Laurent Turner
Principal actors: Gérard Jugnot, Camille Lou, Artus, Louka Meliava, Tom Leeb, Francois Morel

Billionaire Francis Bartek (Gérard Jugnot) lives with his grown-up children in a luxurious villa in Monaco. He has been a widower for 15 years. The oldest son Philippe (Artus) should take over the company, Bartek Enterprise, but he would rather push a new idea called “The Shoe that Fits.” Here a company employee wears new shoes until they are comfortable and then hands them over to the owner. Instead of flying to Avignon for family business, he sneaks off on a private jet to party in Ibiza. He loves his Corvette. The daughter Stella (Camille Lou) spends the day shopping for expensive fashions. She celebrates her 24^th birthday with hundreds of guests, who enjoy shooting golf balls as a means of opening champagne bottles. She is engaged to marry Spanish-speaking Juan Carlos (Tom Leeb); they plan a cruise to Buenos Aires, financed by Francis. The younger son Alexandre skips school at university and sleeps with fellow students, as well as their mothers. Sadly, Francis suffers a heart attack. With the help of housekeeper Margaret, he recovers, but two months later, the police raid the house. The family is bankrupt. Credit cards, bank accounts, and mobile phones are blocked. All four sneak out, steal a car and drive to Marseille where they move into an old broken-down house. How will they survive? There isn’t even one bread crumb on the table for supper. Francis is frail; no one knows where they are. The three children must make some “adult” decisions, with no prior experience.

This super fun story is based on a Mexican film Nosotros los Nobles (The Noble Family) from 2013. Slowly we learn about each family member’s personality. The house happens to be Francis’ childhood home. What does Francis’ good friend Furrucio (Francois Morel) know? How does Juan Carlos locate them to show up unexpectedly? Slowly we guess the truth and nine months later, we are back at another party, but times have changed. All actors are excellent, but Tom Leeb as Juan Carlos in his role as the boyfriend almost steals the show; watch until the end of the credits to discover more. There are morals to the story with lessons about dealing with life, useful even for non-billionaires. (Becky T.)