Le bonheur de Pierre

Le bonheur de Pierre is one of those rare gems you come across when you least expect to. I was lucky to be invited to a screening of the film in Cannes and had no preconception about the movie because I hadn't heard about it before the invite.

It is very rare to see a movie that can charm the pants off an audience without the use of special effects and showy action set pieces these days. The audience I saw this film with loved it. There was a lot of laughter. It's a quirky comedy and it's touching.

As the film develops I found I was warming to the characters which you would arguably call the villains, until the you have walked down a carefully executed production that has been established through excellent writing and direction. You are led to the final scene which is superb in every sense, but I must not give the game away here.

Expert editing and superb comedic performances from all the principals involved makes this a film you must see. I have.. several times!

This isn't the greatest movie I've seen, but I certainly had some good laughs when I saw it. There might be some easy jokes, but it is really refreshing. Even if it is not Robert Ménard's greatest work (Cruising Bar surely was his best movie) Le bonheur de Pierre is certainly in his top 5.

Most of the actors are really good despite some uneveness in the general acting and directing. I really enjoyed the characters of Sylvie Testud and Pierre Richard. The landscapes are splendid and i'm really considering going to Saguenay for some holidays this year. The snow, the mountains, the forest, this seems like a really nice place. I don't know where the movie was shot, but it is surely one of the nicest place in Quebec.

Finally, this isn't the kind of movie that will shake you for months, but it will put a smile in your face for a couple of hours. It did for me and for my two kids. A really nice movie.

Pierre Richard ("Distracted", "The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe", "La Chevre ") is a French comedy actor who was very successful in the 1970's and 1980's. Disregarded by most critics for being "commercial", he has been rehabilitated lately, and it is only fair. For Pierre Richard, far from being just "commercial", has managed to impose a character of his own creation, which is not so common, that of a naive daydreamer, kind-hearted but always blundering and overwhelmed by events, a man everyone identifies with but in whose place nobody would like to be in real life. Copying no one, copied by no one, Pierre Richard is an authentic comic genius, now luckily fully recognized. So when it was announced that our Gallic absent-minded one would fly to Canada, the idea sounded nothing less than attractive. But would the graft take ? Now, judging by the result I am afraid the answer is no, it has not! The pitch was promising, though: Pierre Martin, a Paris quantum physics professor, unexpectedly inherits an inn amid the snows of a small village in Quebec. Against all odds, he decides to go there and operate the establishment. What he does not know is that Michel, the mayor of Sainte-Simone-du-Nord, has an eye on the inn... Unfortunately, due to Robert Ménard's uninspired, heavy-handed direction, the lack of subtlety of Guy Bonnier's script and the way some of the actors outrageously overplay their scenes, all combines to make unfunny a comedy which could (and should) have snatched laughter. Pierre Richard is his usual moonstruck clown self, in other words he is at once spontaneous, charming and droll, but what can he do when the others lay it on thick with a trowel and keep on pulling faces? For another reason, Sylvie Testud proves unable, despite all her talent, to defend her character (Pierre's daughter) properly. Ill-defined and one- dimensional, always playing on the same note (disapproval and annoyance), the role of Catherine Martin will never be a highlight in her filmography). When all is said and done, "Le bonheur de Pierre" both fails as a comedy and as an offbeat vehicle for Pierre Richard. A missed opportunity indeed. But if you are still willing to see our Pierrot transplanted into a foreign environment, you can fall back on Nana Dzohordzhadze "A Chef in Love". It is much better.

"Le bonheur de Pierre" is a funny and surprising film. Pierre Richard in the role of Pierre Martin shows tenderness and never ending goodness. Rémy Girard, on the other part is the mayor you wish to never encounter. The actors are well directed and they really do a good job. I discovered Sylvie Testud, she is extraordinary in the role of Pierre Martin's daughter.

The screenplay and the story are wonderful, it offers refreshing humor on the surface and a touching message about happiness and unity on other levels. You will laugh and you will be touch by this movie.

Good entertainment for the whole family. Finally a film that makes you feel good!