La confiance règne

After two delicious feature-length movies, "Life is a long quiet river" (1988) and "Tatie Danielle" (1990), Etienne Chatiliez's career followed a descending slope: "le bonheur est dans le pré" (1995) hadn't the verve of the two previous movies anymore and "Tanguy" (2001) in spite of a malicious humor that kicked the bull's eye was a movie with exaggerated features. It isn't this new flick "la confiance règne" which will try to show the contrary. Besides, I ask myself a question: what has happened to Etienne Chatiliez? He isn't the same man at the time of "life is a long quiet river". If in this new opus, we find again his favorite topics like middle-class, family or education of the children, all the features that contributed to impose Chatiliez's peculiar comical style are largely absent or barely highlighted by the screenplay. Worse, they gave way to everything you don't want in a Chatiliez comedy. First, let's note down 2 main characters who quickly fall into caricature and this removes them all tenderness and liking. Secondly, Chatiliez and his scriptwriter have signed a story which constantly flirts with bad taste and it presents a quite substantial number of sequences with nearly free vulgarity. Then, comedy of repetition is threadbare and it isn't a globally poor cast which will make up the whole (Anne Brochet has never been so bad). In short, the movie is spoiled by a bombastic script. Add to this, that it makes the film endless to watch and it takes guts to stand it until the end.

As conclusion: this fifth movie made by a film-maker with a more and more erratic career disappoints by its absence of point of view and commitment. It's a shame because in France, many spectators are ready to rush into the first cinema when a new Chatiliez movie is launched. It means that they have complete trust in Tanguy's father to guarantee them a entertainment of quality. But here, I hope that they will realize that it is more confidence trick that Chatiliez offers them.

Indeed, the first part of the movie is amazing and funny: the french country life is depicted with accuracy as well as the dislocation between rich and poor people. The calm, never nervous character of the husband balances the suspicious wife. They live in an excessive comfort while our heroes have nothing. So the social message is evident and humor scores a bull-eye.

But as our kleptomaniacs can't hold back, they must run away. So, they do a sort of France tour, even finishing wealthy and victims of the same tricks from their helping hands. But, then, the movie becomes a bit boring. De France, with her down-to-earth attitude and "chti" accent and Lindon, with his romantic but dumb figure show their great talent but can't save a poor script.

Oups! i would have forgotten to comment about the pockets stealing. It's almost truth cinema so much the feelings are accurate: You really don't have any bad intention but suddenly, it seems that the wallet calls you; then, you open it "just to take a look"; then, you steal a few and finally, the winner takes it all because you think that the owner would discover the theft anyway... Now, i laugh at the movie but twenty years ago, i did the same so my expertise at this bad habit. Frankly, it was for me a lesson very hard taught because as my family made me understand "they knew" while never rising the subject, they give me heavy remorse and that cured me forever!