Friday 24 May 2013

Cockles And Muscles (2004)


Cockles And Muscles (2004 ) [France 94 min.) directed by Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau

Musical comedy romance starring Valéria Bruni-Tedeschi. For Béatrix, Marc and their teenage children, a family holiday in the Côte d'Azur turns into a whirl of illicit romance, subterfuge and sexual confusion.


Light as a feather, bright and breezy bedroom farce/comedy of manners which, in less capable hands and given the subject matter, could have been either terribly worthy or horribly exploitative.

However the co-directors keep the action moving along at a terrific pace and the mood almost constantly upbeat, even when characters are falling out and questioning the nature of their various relationships.

There's also a very amusing sub-plot involving an old fashioned boiler/shower combination and an entre-act musical number that comes totally out of the blue but which is very well staged and performed.

The southern French countryside also helps out by providing a gorgeous backdrop to the action.

All of the cast are excellent, especially the young boys (Romain Torres and Edouard Collin)  whose friendship provides the hook upon which all of the subsequent events are hung ; however Valéria Bruni-Tedeschi walks away with the film - every scene in which she appears is lit up by her effortless, joyful approach to life - whether singing a song about riding her bicycle, relaxing in the garden with some herbal cigarettes or constantly (and happily)  falling for the clumsy ploys of her lover Didier.

There's not a whole of substance but the film is put together with such skill that the wit and charm of the piece ends up pulling you into the absurdist world and will leaves you with a big smile and a warm feeling of joy.

Utterly charming and disarming.

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