Rien à déclarer

Given the commercial and critical success of director Dany Boon's earlier film Welcome to the Sticks, it is peculiar that his next project, Nothing to Declare, endured a straight-to-DVD release in France. This is despite its superb sense of humour, engaging interplay between characters and generally fun, light-hearted feel.

The story, set in 1993, centres on the racist, trigger-happy Belgian Ruben (Benoit Poelvoorde), who is paired up against his will with Frenchman Mathias (Boon) in their effort to police the Franco-Belgian border. Compounding the strenuous partnership is the fact that Mathias is secretly dating overprotective Ruben's sister (Julie Bernard). Also intertwined in the story is the oafish Jacques and trying wife Irene, who turn to smuggling contraband between the borders to make ends meet, as well as the world's most incompetent drug ring and their short-tempered boss.

Right off the bat, it's clear that Boon has a talent for ensemble directing. Although he and Poelvoorde share the lead, each fringe character enjoys ample screen time to tell their story and draw audience engagement, while all potential loose ends are appropriately tied up without leaving any individual's fate hanging in the balance.

Humour is consistent throughout Nothing to Declare. Following a slow start, the film employs varying instances of physical, visual and verbal comedy, the latter of which is accentuated by the consistently tense, tight interplay between certain pairs of characters. The arguable highlight occurs as the criminals attempt to disguise their van as an ambulance for the purpose of drug smuggling, but honourable mentions must also go to Ruben's crude, xenophobic dad and the 'pimping-out' of Mathias's patrol car.

Boon casually addresses the fine line between patriotism and racism with this film but, like all good comedies, it permits pure entertainment to take priority, without falling into the trap of becoming too preachy, political or divisive.

*There's nothing I love more than a bit of feedback, good or bad. So drop me a line on jnatsis@iprimus.com.au and let me know what you thought of my review. If you're looking for a writer for your movie website or other publication, I'd also love to hear from you.*

This movie mainly interested me for it's principal subtext.

The overall mediocre comedy, which sometimes offers loud laughters, and the main intrigue itself is passable.

But, as said, the message of tolerance Is what makes the movie stand out from other like-minded comedies.

The movie exemplifies brilliantly the futility of endless bickering and hate towards your literal neighbors. It shows that, while mostly enshrined in geographical features, are still powerful imaginations in the minds of people.

This does not mean that one should forget his national heritage in a process of transnationalisation or to completely deny the less formidable aspects of another culture, but rather that one should embrace the cultural richness and simple humanity of one's surrounding.

Because the idea of Europe is one of tolerance and altruism. And it should be wholeheartedly defended, in my point of view.

It's long time that I waited for such a funny movie. My nine year old son couldn't wait longer and forced me and my wife to watch the DVD this evening. The quality and humor of this movie is only attempted if it is watched in original language. There were many crazy dialogs and scenes and we had to laugh a lot tonight. Dany Boon and Paul Vervoorde played their role very believable and convincing and they merit standing ovations for this performance. The atmosphere and scenery was well adapted to the nineties. All in all again a truly great success for the french film industry and a win for the cinema world. Don't miss it and you won't regret. Congratulations to all the stuff. 9/10. If you liked it I recommend BIENVENU CHEZ LES CHTI'S, L'ENQUETE CORSE or TAIS-TOI.

I didn't laugh until I cried but I smiled a lot and overall I had a good time. The main characters are nice (except for the girlfriend, her acting was bad imo) and the plot is cute (although a bit basic)

Humor is a funny thing ... especially when it's a movie coming from France and has Danny Boon starring in it. Of course you might have an aversion to the guy (which would be unfortunate), otherwise you might be delighted watching him, even in the craziest situation, because he can even pull those off.

The plot is not that complicated, patrolling the "border", making sure nothing illegal happens, but the situations that ensure due to characters decision and the consequences are really funny. Of course they could also be tragic at times, but this is not a drama and it is made clear very early on ... which should also be an indicator if this is a movie you'll enjoy to watch or not