“Volcanic” This film with an unpronounceable title is TOP 2 on Netflix and it’s really not a masterpiece

News culture “Volcanic” This film with an unpronounceable title is TOP 2 on Netflix and it’s really not a masterpiece

No, it’s not a joke, we’re talking about a film called Eyjafjallajökull. The feature film, directed by Alexandre Coffre, was released in French theaters in 2013, more than 10 years ago. While the press and spectators were not very sympathetic at the time, it is making a comeback on Netflix in 2024. It is currently in second position in the TOP 10 most viewed films today in France on the streaming platform.

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A reference to the volcano

The name of the film is not chosen at random. Indeed, it is the name of the Icelandic volcano whose eruption paralyzed European air traffic in 2010, 3 years before the release of the feature film. The disaster caused no casualties and inspired the French director for the plot. Spectators therefore follow the story of Valérie and Alain who must take the plane to arrive on time in the small village in Greece where their daughter is getting married. The divorced couple suffers the consequences of the eruption of the Icelandic volcano and will do everything to get to the meeting place. By force of circumstances, they will be forced to take the road together even though they hate each other.

In the film, we find two great figures of the French cinematographic landscape. Alain is played by Dany Boon. The 58-year-old actor-director’s performance is particularly praised by certain press outlets. At his side, we find Valérie Bonneton who plays the character of the same (first) name. The 54-year-old actress made a name for herself in Don’t do this, don’t do that (2007) and Les petits mouchoirs (2010). The two celebrities are accompanied by Denis Ménochet, Albert Delpy, Bérangère McNeese, Malik Bentalha, Constance Dollé and Arnaud Henriet. When it was released in theaters, the film was not very well received by the press. On Allociné, the specialist media give it an average rating. We find in particular a 1/5 from Télérama or even Le Monde. However, Le Parisien and Télé 7 Jours give Alexandre Coffre’s comedy a 4/5, just to rebalance things a little.

A record fee for the time

To secure the presence of Dany Boon in his film, Alexandre Coffre had to take out the checkbook according to Le Figaro. At the time, the actor had received a record fee of around 3.5 million euros, or around 15% of the feature film’s total budget. A salary which exceeded that of his previous film on which he had earned 3 million euros. No information has been revealed regarding Valérie Bonneton’s contract.