Le sens des affaires

Watching a group of "suits" attempt to rewrite Chekhov's "Three Sisters" in order to make it more attractive to the audience of today so they can recoup a gigantic loss which has been incurred by an eager but profligate film maker is hilarious. We follow the group from London to New York as they try to get their bank out of serious debt. Totally original, extremely classy and yet another example of why French films continue to be a force in cinema, it constantly delivers laughs while having a subtle dig about films today, what sells them and why they are watched. A perceptive observation of how today's films have been hijacked by those who can only seen the "bottom line" is delivered with comical flair.

I happened to catch this on Sydney's SBS (great TV station that airs a lot of foreign language films) and I have to say that I enjoyed the film immensely. It begins with the question: how can a small financial company save itself from bankruptcy? Why - make a movie that will have universal appeal! The solution? Checkhov's Three Sisters - but, as one executive says, 'it must have nice tits in it!'

The script writing was very clever, and the acting well-done. It takes swipes at Hollywood without being "rude," and delivers plenty of laughs. The film, although a comedy, also delivers plenty for the "thinking person," with its clever plot twists. It plays out like a gigantic chess game, with the "little guy" in a tour de force. A winner in my book.

French producers must have lots and lots of dough to throw down the drain!Why produce such a thing? About 10% of the movie is ,at a pinch ,funny,40% is filler -a nice way to have a good time in New-York,London and Hollywood- and 40% is the success story all over again.To be successful,such a story should have been mad ,a la Billy Wilder .Here it's more a glorification of a system based on cash than a spoof on the pictures business.

To give you an idea of the level of humor,the new boss congratulates Leonardo Di Caprio (we only see the "actor" 's back) for "Titanic" ,"The iron Mask " and..."Star Wars".