Le comptoir

This film is interesting in that wonderful French manner - serious and funny at the same time. It follows the changes wrought in a small town in Brittany when the owner of le comptoir (the bar) sells it and the bar leaves its long-time home for another residence, recently purchased by a Parisian as a vacation place. Local drinkers follow Le Comptoir. Its history and that of the woman who sells it, is told in flashbacks. The film is rich and textured. Besides the wonderfully original plot, the film gives a glimpse into the rural life of the residents of Brittany. The plot recalls a little of the German occupation of this sparsely populated region during WWII. The characters are all believable -- sophisticated city folks encounter crusty farmers, and the frustrated single woman who sells the bar plots her escape from her humdrum village life.