Fumer provoque la toux

Stars an odd group of fantastic vigilantes called the "tobacco-forces", the five super heroes are nicotine, benzène (benzene), méthanol (methanol), ammoniaque (ammonia), and mercure (mercury), their names are all chemical components found inside cigarettes and now they're falling apart. To rebuild team spirit, their leader, Benzène: Gilles Lellouche, suggests that they meet for a week-long retreat, before returning to save the world.

Cinema Indie's 'Enfant Terrible', Quentin Dupieux (Yannick, Mandibules), directs this surreal, sloppy fantasy comedy full of stories as extravagant and bizarre as the film's premise. After annihilating a dangerous giant torture facing off against them, the ungainly tobacco patrol formed by a motley team uses the negative energies of tobacco to drown their enemies until they die, they receive the order to begin a retreat that strengthens the cohesion of the group and allows them to defeat Lizard, a villain who intends to destroy the earth before the year ends. From there, the tacky story of the retreat joins the stories of the eccentric protagonists in a spiral of dark humor, full of puddles, unpredictable characters, incongruous events, ramshackle gore and lousy special effects. The cast is largely unknown to the general public, except for Gilles Lellouche, Vincent Lacoste, Adèle Exarchopoulos as Céline and voice by Alain Chabat as Chief Didier.

Mediocre and somewhat blurry photography mainly in the South of France: the opening scene was shot in the quarry Cabrières d'Avignon, Vaucluse; the lake in Lac de Peïroou, Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Bouches-du-Rhône; the sawmill in Les Mages, Gard; Uzès and studios of Provence, Martigues, Bouches-du-Rhône, Francia.

This absurd motion picture was mediocrely directed by Quentin Dupieux and it premiered at the midnight section of the 2022 Cannes Film Festival. Being second film directed by Quentin Dupieux released in 2022, after Incredible But True (2022). Quentin has made some bizarre, offbeat films, getting some french hits. He has directed: Le Daim or Deerskin (United States, English title) (2010), Au poste (2018), Mandibules (2020), Yannick (2023), and its most succesful film was Rubber (2010). Rating: 4.5/10. Only advisable for fans of strange and surreal films.

Actually they are not ... or are they? Well anyhow, no pun intended. Also do not try this at home - smoking is not good. And since we are not able to use it as a weapon (see the movie for more), we best not start with it in the first place.

Now if you have seen a Quentin Dupieux movie before ... I do not have to explain to you what you can expect. If you haven't ... it is tough to prepare anyone for what is to come. It is silly and it is quite dark (humor and otherwise) ... and yet it really hits the spot when it comes to jokes. You have to dig them of course. Having really known actors in his movies now too - even in smaller roles. Also do not try to make sense of things - this sort of has a coherent story, but not in the sense you may be used to.

Also in the vain of superhero movies there is a scene after the credits. Which is a first for the director if I am not mistaken ... anyway, it makes sense ... again as much as possible, considering the camp fire tales and the "monsters" in costumes we get ... this is weird - just the way you hopefully like it.

Collecting some vaguely creative ideas and putting them in a movie without any real work cannot make a good result. Some projects may lack some budget and compensate with creativity. Here, we get the exact opposite, with a huge cast trapped into a non-existing direction. You'll always find some people to find it's genius or whatever. These people are only trying to look cool.

The movie is excessively short and boring at the same time. The stories composing the film are all shallow and its "modern" messages are not subtle at all. Either people won't get them or people will find them simplistic.

If Quentin Dupieux started working a little bit harder, maybe the result would deserve some interest and show some respect to the audience. Here, we are served something without any care or teste. The movie is emotionless. Because it seems inspired by Peter Jackson's early works and the Metal Heroes era, it should at least have their spirit and energy...

One thing that movie fans can say unequivocally about French cinephiles is that they often possess a love of absurdist humor, both in the films they watch and in the pictures their countrymen make. That's been verified once again in writer-director Quentin Dupieux's latest, a wacky, wigged out sci-fi/fantasy comedy that's truly one of a kind. The film follows the campy exploits of the Tobacco Force, a Power Ranger-like troupe of superheroes who take on cheesy-looking monsters and villains with their martial arts skills, as well as their ability to emit toxic chemicals (like nicotine) in ample quantities to quickly vanquish their foes. However, in the wake of their latest successful mission, their commander (a randy lookalike cousin of TV's lovable alien Alf) orders them to go on retreat to work on their team building skills to compensate for a recent tendency toward too much individualism. And, once there, they work on their bonding by spending much of their time telling stories - truly bizarre ones - that have nothing to do with them or their mission. In turn, these assorted vignettes essentially make up the bulk of the film. Viewers (myself included) might wonder why the picture is constructed in such a way, given that it plays more like a collection of bits loosely strung together by a thin central narrative. But that didn't stop me from laughing, though - and quite a lot at that. From the standpoint of a movie that has a solid, well-crafted story, "Smoking Causes Coughing" fails miserably. But, as one that tickles the funny bone, the picture hits a string of home runs. Yes, it's silly and nonsensical, and it's far from epic filmmaking, However, as something that evokes huge chuckles for their own sake, this one is hard to beat. So, as long as you don't go in expecting auteur-grade cinema, you'll be fine if you accept this one just for what it is - a vehicle for making us laugh at a time when we can really use it most.

What two people find funny isn't going to be the same thing and this comedy is going to be hilarious for you or unbearable. I found it to be the former.

To like this movie you need to enjoy these types of shows: B-Movies like The Room or Troll 2, Black Mirror, Rick and Morty, Garth Marenghi's Dark Place, etc... If you go in looking for this movie to teach you something or 'make sense' then I'd recommend seeing something else, but if you're a goofy guy like me and would laugh at a robot killing itself by driving into a lake or Power Rangers named after cigarette ingredients high fiving for 5 mins while covered in the guts of a turquoise that they gave cancer to then you're in for a treat.

On a technical note while this moving is dripping in B-movie tropes it still manages to have an excellent cast that all are memorable in some capacity and filmed with great shots in beautifully rich colour.