User reviews

The IMDb summary reads: "An upper middle-class French family celebrates a birthday in a restaurant. In one evening and during one meal, family history, tensions, collective and separate grudges, delights, and memories both clash and coalesce." Well, that's right but "upper-class" could be misleading. Upper middle-class, maybe. One brother is an executive, number 4 in a Silicon Valley type firm, but the other runs the bar -- it's more a bar than a restaurant, from what we see -- and it's no great success, more a sign of Henri's lack of ambition (that's Jean-Pierre Bacri) and the sister (Agnès Jaoui) works as an underling at the firm, and her boyfriend is the barman and she seems totally without ambition even to marry, at 30. The exec's wife is a rather ditsy blonde lady. One gets the impression that the family is somewhat going to seed. Henri's wife has just left him, Betty can't commit to anything, Philippe's totally insecure, their mom is a pain... This was a play written by Jaoui and Bacri and is full of their delicious dry humor, pettiness and grumpiness and keen social and psychological observation. I found it very funny but at the same time a bit depressing and somewhat static, since it's a play. To underline the static quality, one of the "charicters" is Caruso, a paralyzed dog. It doesn't "open up" as the 2000 Le goût des autres/The Taste of Others and the 2004 Comme une image/Look at Me do; on the other hand, the focus on personalities is even more precise. The "air" is bad air, but things don't end on a too unhappy note in this gentle, ironic comedy. Now that I'm following French dialogue more carefully, I enjoyed this a lot, including the social nuances I could catch about who gets called "tu" and who gets called "vous" and when. Klapisch keeps the camera moving but unobtrusive, adding a childhood flashback perhaps once too often, framing the story with a street panorama and a warm musical theme. To call Bacri "grumpy" may be redundant. I'm not sure what led Klapisch (who from L'Auberge espagnole seems to have a more lighthearted outlook himself) to direct this, and for Jaoui to start directing her writing with Bacri afterwards with Taste of Others and Look at Me.

The DVD by Fox Lorber is of unusually poor quality. You can't turn the subtitles on and off, and they came out half below the screen. There are virtually no extras.

The movie "Cuisines et Dépendances" (1993) had revealed Jean Pierre Bacri/Agnès Jaoui's original talent. Here, "un air de famille" (1996) which is once again an adaptation of a play written by the duo constitutes a kind of extension and especially a clear improvement for them. This movie made by Cédric Klapisch is very superior to the first quoted movie although "Cuisines et dépendances" is a worthy work. The meeting Bacri-Jaoui-Klapisch shines to delivers a stunning flick. It is difficult to tell because it is so rich and crowded with incident that it would take several pages to sum it up. So, to tell you the main reasons that justify the vision of this film, I will go to the essential.

3 things confer to the movie a strong appeal. First, the scriptwriters have the remarkable gift to make sparks fly from the single cue and to let what is left unsaid and the suggested leak out. Dialogs are also their best weapon to revamp the middle-class' image but also to harm the characters' meanness and faults. This last feature enables to Bacri and Jaoui to distinguish themselves in the French comedy. It is their recognizable stamp to disclose certain faults that we have inside us but which we really don't want to admit. In this way, it is quite easy to identify with the characters. We have a little "air de famille" with them.

But "un air de famille" is also worth for Klapisch's accurate making with an outstanding work on the lighting effects. The lighted café contrasts with the dark restaurant in the background of the scenery. Moreover, the split of the family amazingly answers to the dreary aspect of the scenery. Little by little, the film becomes a stifling In Camera tempered by a few sequences which relate childhood memories.

In another extent, there's another strong point from Klapisch: the directing of actors which is flawless and well studied. Personally I think it is a real treat to see Jean Pierre Bacri coming and going in his café, with his sullen look. Beside him, Catherine Frot is irresistible in her role of silly woman while Jean Pierre Darroussin is the sole stable character in the middle of this family which is slowly breaking up. He also tries to bring his support and comfort to the members.

"Un air de famille" is a smart and ferociously funny movie. Jean Pierre Bacri and Agnès Jaoui rank among the finest comical authors of the nineties and Cédric Klapisch can without problem join the group of the best French film-makers of his generation. Don't miss this movie which will give you another image of the French comedy.

Mr. Klapisch continues to mark himself as one of the finest directors of his generation; with simple means, he tells tales which stick close to the bone of contemporary life, and he knows his territory quite well. This French family could not ring more true, and it is in the subtleties - such as the scenes of the "successful" son who is nonetheless hounded by the biting criticisms of his family - that Klapitch really distances himself from his contemporaries. There is little of the long-windedness or preciousness of some of the current flock of young directors, and his films never glibly mock their characters, which can leave more chilling - or uplifting - conclusions towards the end of their tales. It seems that every time a movie is adapted from a play people seem to harp on its "theatricality" - almost as a matter of course - yet this film works quite well on the screen, and the visual qualities of the storytelling are numerous, while the cinematography is superb throughout. I must also add that, despite the fact that we are discouraged from reacting to existing comments on this page, the comments of the reviewer from Dublin, Ireland are among the most ludicrous I have seen on these pages; Un Air de Famille - it is a superb title in French - is one of the finest films to come out of France in the last decade.

This is a vehicle from and for (they both appear in it) a very gifted team of writer/actors or vice versa and in some ways a dress rehearsal for their standout Les Gout des autres which would, a couple of years later, cop a bagful of Cesars and deservedly so. Unlike other commenters I don't find the obvious stage origins a problem any more than I do with say, Francis Veber's 'Diner du Cons', which works equally well in both media. I haven't, alas, seen the stage version of this though I would dearly love to. The writing is spot on, the characters are flesh and blood and one hundred per cent believable. It's one of those movies where we can say that, yes, we all know people like this. It would be churlish to single out anyone from this fine ensemble cast, including the two authors, suffice it to say that everyone turns in a great performance. One to see again and again.

"Un Air de Famille" is a French comedy involving nonstop dialogue which relies substantially on verbiage, context and inflection for humor; the worst kind of film for subtitles. I encountered considerable difficulty while trying to read the subtitles, keep track of who said what, grasp the subtle humor, and follow the story finally giving up on the film as not worth my while. Recommended for French-speakers only. (B-)

If like me you like French films, you will like this one. There is no plot to speak of and no time wasted in car-chases and violent action sequences. There is just fascinating dialogue and the interaction of interesting characters, plus the expression of real emotion and nuances of feeling. There is an intimacy with the characters that is typically French and which the Americans rarely achieve. At the end of the film you feel you know and understand these people and are wiser for having known them.

I loved the performance of Catherine Frot in the film. She was delicious and made the character of Yolande incredibly appealing and lovable. What a crying shame she should have shackled herself to such a self-centred, unappreciative husband. He was the luckiest man alive and yet too obtuse to realise it. How appallingly sad.

The high-light of the film for me was the little dance Yolande had with the quiet, philosophic bar-man Denis, played by Jean Pierre Darroussin, who, revealing his kind heart, offered to dance with her when her insensitive husband refused - despite the fact that it was supposed to be her birthday celebration. Denis's skillful dancing surprised them all, and disclosed a whole new aspect of his personality. There is a touching moment at the bar when Yolande, suspecting Betty's romantic interest and trying to encourage it, says to her with a lovely winsome expression; "He's a good dancer." And at the end of the film when Betty and Denis are seen to declare their love for each other, she says delightedly, to the chagrin of her snobbish and spiteful mother-in-law; "You know what this means? It means he's going to be part of the family."

This is exactly the sort of film you'd never see coming from Hollywood, as it has no flashy stars, a very simple script and it's about people and relationships. While this might easily bore teenagers or those who long for explosions or boobies in their films, if you are an adult looking for a movie that doesn't insult your intelligence, then this is a movie for you.

The film's premise is simple. A mother and her three adult children and their spouses get together every Friday night for dinner at the same nearby restaurant each week. However, this night is different because one of the spouses (who you never see in the film) has just walked out and the time-honored tradition is thrown off kilter. It seems that because the usual routine is thrown aside, over the course of the evening, the normally happy family veneer is slowly pulled aside--revealing the ugliness and pettiness of some of them. Interestingly enough, the most interesting character in this whole thing is a non-family member (who works for one of the sons). In a way, he seems almost like an audience member watching the craziness and only later reacting to it. Fortunately, while there are some minor fireworks, all the family problems seem real and you can relate to them--this is NOT a tacky film where one person announces they are getting a sex change or another announces that they are having an affair with a chicken! No, the problems seem real and seething just under the surface. Additionally, how you perceive each family member changes a bit over time as more and more of the veneer is pulled away. One minute you like or are concerned about one of them, the next you want to slap them upside the head--just like a REAL family! I am glad that while the problems were revealed, there were no easy answers or pat resolutions. Like life, at the end, you are left wondering what will transpire next and I sure would love to see a sequel to this excellent picture. Good writing, direction and acting--this is such a simple but well-made little film.

If your idea of entertainment is watching family members yell at each other, offer bitter sarcasm, and make each other feel bad about themselves, this is the movie for you! My French teacher told me this was one of his favorite films, so I ordered it from France in the European version. I was very disappointed. Granted, my French isn't perfect, but I understood most of it and still thought it wasn't very funny. In fact, it made me uncomfortable, and very little struck me as funny or entertaining. I guess the French have a different sense of humor. Because the screen play was adapted from a play, almost all of the story takes place inside of a bar, and this takes some of the potential entertainment value away. There isn't much of a plot--I kept waiting for something to happen, but it never did.

I was enthralled by this filmed play of an evening in the life of a family driven to a peak of "dysfunction," but through it all held together by the glue of love, however imperfect (as it always is).

The movie is a comedy in the sense that it makes you laugh at, with, and sometimes in spite of the kaleidoscopic display of personal and interpersonal flaws, weaknesses, and vulnerabilities that it illuminates through its crack cast of closely observed and defined characters. Few if any of them fails to reveal a different side to their personality with each turn of the kaleidoscope. These are complex people - just like the real kind. And the fact that the script, the camera, and the direction simultaneously lay bare their suffering/insufferable humanity (and their unique virtues) while evoking sympathy, fondness, and identification with each one of them is what, to my mind, raises Un Air de Famille from the level of good artistry to that of redeeming social value: art with a heart.

Syd Baumel

The obvious 'filmed play' style enhanced this for me - there would have been little to gain by making it more of a movie. Wonderful character development and fantastic acting. A disturbing portrait of a dysfunctional family - exaggerated slightly to play to the back of the house, but not too much.

A feature film can be interpreted in many different ways depending on who is assessing it.For screenwriters, Un Air de Famille directed by renowned French director Cédric Klapisch is a film which boasts of a simple yet ingenuous plot whose strength is revealed progressively.For astute viewers,this is a film which highlights the importance of a family setup especially in the manner people with different aspirations and tastes are able to learn from each other.We get to see how some family members are treated more favorably than others.The learning in question is related to a family whose members gather to celebrate a happy event.The mark of Cédric Klapisch's leadership skills bears its strong imprint on this film not only in the manner he wrote the screenplay with Agnès Jaoui and Jean-Pierre Bacri but also with the sincerity with which he has extracted excellent acting performances from these two famous actors.Apart from being an excellent piece of sumptuous entertainment,Un Air de Famille is also able to score good points as it is a good learning endeavor for everyone interested in French language and culture.This is revealed in the manner in which the lives of married people are delineated.This film also reveals the manner in which a worker's relationship with the boss is depicted.These two facets are useful for anyone who wants to watch Un Air de Famille in order to understand the dynamics of a French family and French language.

This French comedy is one of the best of the last years with "On connait la chanson" & "Le diner de cons". I believe that this movie should be very difficult to understand for non-french people or for those who don't know very well our humor. Personally, I love this movie and the actors who are playing in it. Particularly Jean Pierre Bacri with his mimics and his faculty to be hilarious. He has written the script with Agnes Jaoui and this is not a surprise to see that they've succeeded in writting an excellent comedy. In fact they have written many scripts together and they were often very good movies. As many as the others French comedies, I don't know what is the result with the english translation, but I think you should watch it in french version because a good part of the actors play's is in their way of talking and their voice intonation's. And this is very difficult to translate.

The performances are uniformly excellent. My father Laurent Foucher also done a good job. Gone are the freewheeling camera movements and in their place come precise placements. The job of keeping the audience guessing and is full of entertaining filmic references and cinematic devices. By your lovely son..

God this film evokes a certain real France. A scruffy run-down cafe near a railway crossing . The stifling, boring French family meal (I am married to a French girl). I laughed many times (though it's not a comedy), everyone plays their part well,.

The best French film I've seen since "the visitors"

Far too easy. From its not very subtle title (meaning the appearance of being a family), this film sets out its stall as a family-as-social-microcosm-style melodrama of the Nicholas Ray school. The material was originally a play, and its cramped theatrical origins suit the film's theme - the breakdown and paralysis of the family.

The action takes place in a family cafe - Au Pere Tranquille (here the father is dead - does the film lament the passing of patriarchy, tradition, order? These characters seem like squawking, entropic puppets who have lost their master). The decor of this family home/business is oppressive, dank, hostile (actively so - at one point the mother is injured); characters are continually framed to show their entrapment, and compared to trapped animals - a paralysed dog, a dying fly, tanked fish. Escape and epiphany are tantalisingly evoked only to be cruelly yanked away. Everyone is a failure/loser, even the seemingly prosperous. Bunuel's ghost hovers in the tale of a group of diners who cannot escape their surroundings. Crucially, these characters inhabit a class limbo - that dangerous extremist hunting-ground between lower and middle - that seems to account for their identity crises. Both 'happy' endings are heavily undermined. Everything happens exactly as you'd expect.

If ever a film showed the supremacy of the director over the writer in the cinema, it is this one. Alain Resnais used a play by the same writer/actors to create a quicksilver masterpiece, On Connait La Chanson, which was graceful, hilarious, moving, patterned, directed with the lightest of touches, yet profoundly sad and aware of the encroachment of time and death. This film is unworthy of the masters it alludes to: it is flatly directed, without insight; the dialogue (in translation, at any rate) is frequently banal; the characters are often hard to make out in the murky mise-en-scene, or are mere hectoring stereotypes, making redundant the so-called character study. Too many French films recently are working over this same old tired ground with increasingly little result. La Haine was supposed to have blown them all away.

(The subtitles are appalling, often unreadable).

If like me you like French films, you will like this one. There is no

plot to speak of and no time wasted in car-chases and violent action

sequences. There is just fascinating dialogue and the interaction of

intereresting characters, plus the expression of real emotion and

nuances of feeling. There is an intimacy with the characters that is

typically French and which the Americans rarely achieve. At the end of

the film you feel you know and understand these people and are wiser for

having known them.

I loved the performance of Catherine Frot in the film, She was delicious

and made the character of Yolande incredibly appealing and lovable.

What a crying shame she should have shackled herself to such a

self-centred, unappreciative husband. He was the luckiest man alive and

yet too obtuse to realize it. Hows appallingly sad.

The high-light of the film for me was the little dance Yolande had with

the quiet, philosophic bar-man Denis, played by Jean-Pierre Darroussin,

who, revealing his kind heart, offered to dance with her when her

insensitive husband refused - despite the fact that it was supposed to

be her birthday celebration. Denis's skillful dancing surprised them all, and disclosed a whole new

aspect of his personality. There is a touching moment at the bar when

Yolande, suspecting Betty's romantic interest and trying to encourage

it, says to her with a lovely winsome expression; `He's a good dancer.' And at the end of the film when Betty and Denis are seen to declare

their love for each other, she says delightedly, to the chagrin of her

snobbish and spiteful mother-in-law; `You know what this means? It means

he's going to be

it is very easy to make a good french movie : In a jar you put Agnès Jaoui-J.p. Bacri as writers and actors, the delightful Jean pierre darroussin in a supporting play, an adaptation of a stage play and you shake all..... You get "cuisine et dépendances". A very good french movie... What ? Oh, yes, sorry for the mistake. You get "un air de famille".

By the way, who is this C. Klapisch ? Oh, yes, I remember this former porn director. I don't know his involvement in this movie as long as it's an adaptation of a stage play ( yes, you're right, cuisine et dépendance too).

A good movie for french people. If you are not french you can skip this one. Instead, search for JP Darroussin and Catherine Frot in some other movies ( there are many good ones), as they are as good actors as Agnès Jaoui-JP Bacri are good writers. It's only too bad the recipe is so easy, and has always the same taste.

And for Cedric Klapisch he is a good director sometimes. Just try "Chacun cherche son chat" and enjoy some good french cinema.

It's a struggle to get through this family drama, or maybe nervous breakdown would be a better description. The Menards are a grim bunch: Philippe is near the top of his firm, but is a miserable bully who can't stop running down his wife, siblings and anyone else who comes into view; Henri is without ambition or even contentment with his place as manager of the family restaurant--bitter wisecracks are the only contribution he's able to make to the proceedings; Betty is 30 and drifting with no husband and few job prospects. Some flashbacks to 1967 when the three were children offer some relief from the gloom.

The action is interrupted only twice; once when Denis the waiter, who functions as a sort of chorus, takes the morose Yolande onto the dance floor as the run-down Scopitone machine plays a Patti Smith song (surely an exotic number for a down-market place like this?). The other break comes when Henri leaves to try to coax his angry wife into returning to him--you are entirely on her side. I find that Cedric Klapisch enjoys making us miserable, else why would he have bothered with this story?

It is always interesting to read other peoples impressions and critics of movies and when I read the Darragh O'Donoghue's above comments about the film 'Un air de famille' - he (she?) already doesn't understand the title of the film which is full of double or triple meanings - I can't help but write down my very own impressions of the film.

It is clearly visible that the script was originally written for stage by using one single location for the film. The director of the film cleverly used the simple set(it's a low budget movie after all) to invoke a lively family meeting by setting up lots of different shots. His solution was to make the camera mostly invisible by not clinging to exaggerated camera moves or positions. By doing so he gives us the possibility to concentrate on the actors and their dialog. And what a pleasure that is to do. Step by step we get more and more involved and because it's somehow clear from the beginning that this piece is not about major surprises but about the subtle plays and conflicts happening between people who know each other for a long time, one is charmingly pulled into the story.

p.s. the subtitles are clearly readable. The 'banal' dialog between the family members has exactly the right dose of innuendoes and truthfulness.

A pleasure to watch.

Forget about the way the actors are directed and the fact that it certainly was better on stage... if you speak French, this movie is a pure delight. I cannot find anyone to compare with JP Bacri and some of the actors in the film. It's in their voices, in the words they use... It may not appeal to Canadians or Belgians since this humour is simply unique and you either love it or hate it. I don't know how anyone could translate the dialogues into English without losing all the "flavour".

I was moved by the spectacle of this dysfunctional family. In regard to the comment made by Frisouille (France); a Canadian fan of the colorfull side of the popular french language (I am one) can appreciate all the flavor and the meaningfullness of the apparent profusion of the delicious dialogue. The acting is also admirable, by all the actors. Catherine Frot is remarquable and touching even if her character looks "nunuche"; compare with her sparkling performance in LA DILETTANTE.One should see the latter movie-although on a lighter tone-if one liked UN AIR DE FAMILLE.