A man considers the fine line between friendship and family as he crosses France by foot in this comedy. Felix (Sami Bouajila) is a cheerful thirty-something from Normandy who is part-Arab by birth and 100 percent French by inclination; Felix is also gay and HIV-positive, though the ups and downs of the characters on his favorite soap opera trouble him more than his health, which he regards with a good-natured stoicism. Felix has never really known his father, who left his mother before Felix
was born, and after he receives some old letters his dad wrote to his mother, Felix decides its time they talked before it's too late. Figuring his father's likely whereabouts in Marseilles from the letters, Felix packs up his knapsack and hits the road, planning on hiking cross country and meeting up with his boyfriend, Daniel (Pierre-Loup Rajot), in a couple of weeks. Along the way, Felix's open-hearted charm allows him to make several new friends, and before long he's bonded with a number of people he's embraced as a surrogate family: Mathilde (Patachou), an elderly woman with regrets about her life; Isabelle (Ariane Ascaride), a single mother who can't find a stable relationship; Daniel (Pierre-Loup Rajot), a teenager coming to terms with his sexuality; and a "cousin" (Philippe Garziano) interested in kites with whom Felix has a brief fling (while they practice safe sex, their al fresco encounter leads to a dreaded and painful malady -- poison ivy). As Felix moves onwards toward Marseilles, he and his new friends ponder the notion of family -- is it defined by blood, or by your heart and soul? Drôle de Félix was released in English-speaking territories under two different titles, Funny Felix and The Adventures of Felix. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
Narratively, what we have here is a basic road movie, a genre that too often doubles as an excuse to hide a flawed script -- merely an episodic series of loose vignettes.
We realize early on that nothing much is going to happen ... and it's hard to stay fully engaged with a film that, frontal nudity notwithstanding, plays it so safe.
It would all be too obviously feel-good if Ducastel and Martineau weren't also tuned in to the liberating drift of the open highway and a sharp native humor that adds needed flesh and blood to their walking metaphors.
The greatest accomplishment of writer-directors Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau is that they can sustain subtle expressions of love, both physical and emotional... while also allowing these same characters to deal with the shortcomings of humanity.
This is a beautiful, unpretentious film. Sami Bouajila is gorgeous as is his portrayal of Felix and Patachou as Mathilde was perfectly cast and brilliantly played. If you're studying French, or just a casual student of language and come across the term "Joie de vivre", then look no further than this film for its
definition because they fit each other to a T.I've often lamented the sad state of American mainstream film but if you care to see a film done right and without a hundred million dollar budget, here it is. What the French do right seems so effortless, too; a simple story, exception players, film it in France. Olivier Ducastel has my vote for Director of the Century, just from this one film.
November 25, 2010
Jim Chatman
This was a tolerable movie. Not impressive by any means. You can find racism everywhere, appreciate the love that you already have
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