I didn't know nothing about the film before seeing it. I didn't even know it had anything to do with Charles Aznavour. And I was happy not to know anything about the movie. I was pleasantly surprised. I quickly realized that I was in for a nice treat. It's so fun when that happens! Gérard Darmon is sublime. He's just perfect as Jean-Claude, an old unemployed die-hard fan of Aznavour. One day, Jean-Claude and his nephew Benoît start the trek to Paris (they decide to walk the 200 kilometers or so that separate their town from the big city). Jean-Claude's goal: to meet Aznavour and to give him a tape that contains a brief recorded message on which he expresses his admiration to the great singer. But the tape gets longer and longer because Benoît is filming along the way. They're soon joined by Arsène and Boris. The actors playing them are both doing a fine job. But Darmon steals the show. He's got "toute une gueule" as the French would say. And he sings very well the songs of his hero. Speaking of the songs, they're a tremendous asset to the movie. There's also great comical relief along the way and emotional scenes. Will they ever meet Aznavour? Find out for yourself!
Seen in Toronto, at the Royal Cinema, during Cinéfranco, on April 7th, 2006.
87/100 (***½)
