Mammuth

This movie is a road movie in the France of small people, done by an atypical guy on an atypical bike (would you figure that the antique Munch Mammuth that Gérard Depardieu is shown riding is priced around $100.000?)

As Depardieu is making his trip to the places where he used to live and work, so that he can get the paperwork he needs to retire, we meet a number of comic situations, that often reveal the absurdity of our modern world (see the scene where Yolande Moreau fights against an automated voice phone service). Miss Ming character also gives us some nice touches of craziness.

Besides the comic situations, there is a more serious tone. The movie shows us the rigidity of the retirement system, from which a number of people are excluded, as they are anyway excluded from the whole economical system. A few moments in the movie also make us feel how getting old can be a wrecking for these people.

So there is both fun and sensibility there, and Gérard Depardieu is good at conveying both. This is his best role for a great while and it proves that he stills has something to give.

If another user is right and the bike Depardieu is riding in this movie (a Mammuth) is worth a lot of money, you should start wondering what he is on about. But then again, I don't think it matters that much, because it is about a system and its flaws. And while it mixes funny situations with very serious matters, it does not get the combination of them both does not always work in favor of the movie.

Still Depardieu tries hard and there are quite a few good scenes, with very good points. Like when Depardieus character tries to "communicate" with a service over a phone. The pacing seemed to be a problem too (all over the place). But then again, there are a lot of people who liked it as it is. It kind of reminded me of the movie "Broken Flowers". Though I think this one is (a little bit) better

Lets just concentrate on one small matter The knowingness of the filmmakers is apparent with there choice of bike. At the time Serge would have been a biker this would have been an aspiration for a European working man that was possible of fulfilment. In his comatose state the world moved on and his icon becomes a forgotten relic as many of the Mammuths did. Out of touch he would be unaware that the bike has now become a cult and consequently recently accrued great value. I have also had my Sidcup moments and in a sort of way also been redeemed by art so I understand that sector of the film, although perhaps in this film is slightly unbalances the structure And then Yolande Moreau can make shaving an armpits so moving that I cried.

Bought this on DVD and it's been sitting around uwatched for maybe 2 years. Sorry I didnt see it sooner. Hands down this is a really really good movie. It's surreal and funny and poignant. The clown who gave it a bad review is clearly ignorant. He even says he only watched it to see how bad Depardieu looks. Some critique.

If you have a wry sense of humor you are going to love this film. The nuances of dialog were clearly not recognized by that other dummy.

ee it today!

Perhaps if you're a devoté of what used to be called art-house films this movie might not seem so different to you. Otherwise, it is likely to strike the average mover-goer accustomed to average movies as very strange indeed. Much if the dialogue is delivered in a very dead-pan style. Some of the cinematography, however, is really both very original and very beautiful. These are not introspective characters. They sometimes aggravate us because they don't think about their situation and are constantly astounded by what happens. This leaves them the victim of government bureaucracies that are simply too complicated for them to understand. You are unlikely to identify with these characters. Often you wonder whether to take them as mocking caricatures or sympathetic portraits. Still, the movie almost always held me, which is more than I can say for many more "normal" movies.