The French are like this, when you put someone in a box, it is often difficult to get them out. For some, Franck Dubosc is this popular comedy actor like “Camping”, capable of embodying the old seducer who is a bit of a jerk to perfection. Which is not totally false when we look at his filmography. And yet, what a beautiful and pleasant surprise to see him arrive in theaters on this first day of the year with his third film as director, “A Bear in the Jura”, in which he stars alongside Laure Calamy, Benoît Poelvoorde, Emmanuelle Devos and Kim Higelin. We didn't really know what to expect and, it is clear, that Dubosc succeeded brilliantly. His film is surprising, intelligent, funny, dark, with sharp references.
The story of a couple, Christmas tree sellers, who discover two dead people and two million euros in a wrecked car with which they collided. The couple decides to keep the money, hide the bodies and pay for their fuel while having to fend off the gendarmerie investigation… “I almost called the movie 'Money Can't Buy Happiness, My Ass', smiled Franck Dubosc when we met him on the sidelines of the Cineroman festival in Nice, in October, where he came to present his film. I wanted to see what could be done with such a sum. It is also the story of a couple who find each other thanks to money. Everyone has a price, and everyone is a little bit rotten in this Jura village and everyone wants to bite into the loot.”
In this black comedy, which quickly reminds us of the brilliant “Fargo” by the Coen brothers released in 1996, we are captivated by the style, the tone, the humor, the casting, the details, the soundtrack. We'll say it, Franck Dubosc pleasantly surprised us with this film. An achievement which we did not suspect could belong to Dubosc's register, given what he had accustomed us to. Dubosc stepped out of his comfort zone, and so did we.
A form of emancipation
“I like cinema, I'm not necessarily a film buff, but I'm not a customer of the cinema that I make as an actor, for example. Going into genre cinema as a director tempts me, in revenge. There is a form of emancipation as I get older. This does not mean that I move away from comedy.”
This story, which depicts the difficult life of Mr. and Mrs. Everyman, therefore takes its author a step aside. An actor, director, who knows where he wants to go and with whom. Managing Benoît Poelvoorde, for example, is not an easy thing. “It's a tornado, he was very healthy on the film, in good shape, with a lot of desire. He makes everyone laugh, so it's tiring. But when we say action, there, it's no longer tiring, it's a real machine. I had to be very focused on my actors and Benoît quite liked that. He was like a child, he really wanted to do well.”
A precise creation, full of subtleties
Franck Dubosc has reached a new level with such a film. A precise creation, full of subtleties, details, winks. Perhaps the film will not find a popular response, as with his first film, “Everybody Stand”, which brought together more than 2.5 million people in theaters, but it will mark a turning point in the director's career . “It’s a genre film, I’m not going to reach the whole of France, I just want to be loved by those who love this cinema. I want to convince those who didn’t believe in it, I also like the result in any case, I accept it and I plead guilty and it takes away a lot of stress from me when people tell me that this project surprises people. the public to catalog me in a comic register even if it film remains a comedy, there are moments where we really laugh. It's true that the beginning, very serious, sows doubt. When the film begins to gain notoriety, people will know that they have the right. to laugh faster than expected.”
And as Franck Dubosc likes to pay attention to details, his film will be released in theaters this January 1st. A nod to its Jura history where the final scene takes place… on December 31.
Our review
History
Michel and Cathy, a couple worn down by time and financial difficulties, no longer really speak to each other. Until the day when Michel, to avoid a bear on the road, hits a car and kills the two occupants. Two deaths and two million in used notes in the safe, obviously it makes you want to talk again. And above all to keep quiet.
Our opinion
Let's not beat around the bush. We showed up in the dark room with a form of apprehension. We are not necessarily extremely fond of Franck Dubosc's achievements and we didn't know what to expect. And, very quickly, “A Bear in the Jura” surprises. Franck Dubosc has changed. He has matured. Or maybe he had fun with a film that was perhaps more personal in its staging. A mixture of “Fargo”, “Polar Park”, with a cold, cynical, chilling atmosphere and this omnipresent black humor, well carried by a group of actors in tune.
Dubosc is perfect but what can we say about Laure Calamy, Benoît Poelvoorde, Joséphine de Meaux or Emmanuelle Devos. It's fine, well written, with well-delivered subliminal messages, particularly on the migration crisis affecting Europe. Basically, Dubosc achieves a tour de force, a feat, with an intelligent film, extremely well filmed, with constant subtle details.
We were won over from start to finish, from the soundtrack to the backgrounds and this lack of filter. Difficult to say if Dubosc has found his way because the film will have to find its audience but what a pleasure to discover that the man who appeared in his underwear in a film about the campsite is capable of delivering such a score to us. Without any false note. Go for it, it's brilliant as hell.
> By Franck Dubosc (France). With Franck Dubosc, Laure Calamy, Benoît Poelvoorde, Joséphine de Meaux, Kim Higelin, Emmanuelle Devos… Comedy. 1:52.
“A BEAR IN THE JURA”
“Fargo” on the farm
History
Michel and Cathy, a couple worn down by time and financial difficulties, no longer really speak to each other. Until the day when Michel, to avoid a bear on the road, hits a car and kills the two occupants. Two deaths and two million in used notes in the safe, obviously it makes you want to talk again. And above all to keep quiet.
Our opinion
Let's not beat around the bush. We showed up in the dark room with a form of apprehension. We are not necessarily extremely fond of Franck Dubosc's achievements and we didn't know what to expect. And, very quickly, “A bear in the Jura” surprises. Franck Dubosc has changed. He has matured. Or maybe he had fun with a film that was perhaps more personal in its staging. A mixture of “Fargo”, “Polar Park”, with a cold, cynical, chilling atmosphere and this omnipresent black humor, well carried by a group of actors in tune.
Dubosc is perfect but what can we say about Laure Calamy, Benoît Poelvoorde, Joséphine de Meaux or Emmanuelle Devos. It's fine, well written, with well-delivered subliminal messages, particularly on the migration crisis affecting Europe. Basically, Dubosc achieves a tour de force, a feat, with an intelligent film, extremely well filmed, with constant subtle details.
We were won over from start to finish, from the soundtrack to the backgrounds and this lack of filter. Difficult to say if Dubosc has found his way because the film will have to find its audience but what a pleasure to discover that the man who appeared in his underwear in a film about the campsite is capable of delivering such a score to us. Without any false note. Go for it, it's brilliant as hell.
> By Franck Dubosc (France). With Franck Dubosc, Laure Calamy, Benoît Poelvoorde, Joséphine de Meaux, Kim Higelin, Emmanuelle Devos… Comedy. 1h52. Our opinion:
