The Very Very Big Company

Very few people went to see this film and what few film fans rated it on IMDb gave it a very low grade. I must admit I am amazed because I personally had a really good time watching 'La très très grande enterprise', Pierre Jolivet's last work and - in my eyes - one of his best.

Basically, 'La très très grande enterprise' is an attack against the greed and cynicism of multinationals, here an agrochemical one named Naterris. But instead of drilling political slogans like the politically committed directors of the 1960s used to do, Jolivet involves the viewer in an exciting adventure film, with a lot of twist plots and humor, which in no way masks the social commentary.

The three modern musketeers of this story (who are four like in Dumas' novel) are likable and complement each other perfectly: Roschdy Zem is fine as the leader of the four against the Naterris tower, Marie Gillain is a sparkling love interest, Jean-Paul Rouve excellent as a gay cook and Adrien Jolivet , the director's son, has good scenes as the youngest in the group. The actors playing the executives of the company (Scali Delpeyrat, Guilaine Londez - who has a funny sex scene with Roschdy Zem-, Anne Loiret) are also well-chosen and convincing.

I remained stuck throughout and even if the starting point is not quite believable (four ordinary fellows deciding to be hired by a multinational to find evidence of pollution within the walls of its head office) the script is so nicely packaged that I stopped asking myself questions and just enjoyed.

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