Giù al nord

A Parisian husband who is transfered to a town in north of France carrying a negative image about its people, but then he realizes the truth of his misperceptions.

The plot is kinda simple yet fun depicting stereotyping and friendship in a sweet and lovable way.

I really felt for the climax as I am one who is really attached to people and places. What helped more to enjoy WELCOME TO THE STICKS (BIENVENUE CHEZ LES CH'TIS) is the incredible work for the subtitles which captured the essence of scenes where different dialects have a role in the plot for non-French speaking.

As a French film lover, I had to discover this little film which was surrounded by much hype and now ranks among the 5 most profitable movies launched in France. Otherwise, people would have told me: "what? You haven't seen Bienvenue Chez Les Ch'Ti's? Everyone's talking about it. It's terrific". So terrific that it turned the small town of Berck into an unlikely tourist attraction and a few months ago I ate a delicious "Maroual" tart! Without mentioning verbal expressions that are now used in French common language like "Biloute". I went to see it also partly because I had enjoyed Dany Boon's first effort as a director: "la Maison Du Bonheur" (2006) even if I especially smiled than laughed.

I'm a little baffled that this film which isn't that much original made itself known in virtually every French house. The premise of a man who has to cope with a new and supposedly hostile world has been used thousands of times before in cinema. At first, Boon follows an apparently mapped scheme. Kad Merad is anguished at the idea to spend a part of his professional life in Northern France where it is supposed to rain every day and where inhabitants appear to be sullen. But then, things aren't what he believes them to be: it's often sunny and people are generally charming. But as he wants to avoid a breakdown to his wife, Merad lies to her until one day she joins him in the Nord Pas De Calais.

What I like in Boon's effort is that it recycles the clichés linked to this French area to boost laughter and it often works. I dig the moments when Merad is on the highway (to hell?) and as soon as he arrives in the Nord Pas De Calais, it starts to rain. When Merad also tries to help Boon to solve his problem with alcohol, it's quite funny too. I would also quote the moments with humorist Patrick Bosso as a cop who stops twice Merad on the highway and its results. Boon's directing should also be praised for taking some of his clichés into unexpected territories like when Boon announces to Line Renaud that he wants to marry his girlfriend. And when Merad's wife comes to visit him in Northern France, Dany Boon thumbs the nose at the ones who have a dogged vision of dreary Northern France.

There's no denying that Boon is deeply attached to his native area. His love for it transpires in virtually every plan where we can see parts of the town and its inhabitants. It's obvious that he feels much more at ease in directing and acting than in its previous effort where secondary roles almost stole him the show. He manages to convey tenderness for his characters to the viewer. However, like in "la Maison Du Bonheur", I especially smiled than laughed. The sole moment where I was dead laughing was when Merad pretends to be disabled to have his promotion even if this trick isn't new.

But Boon's effort is better than his first one thanks to his control over directing (one can admire the contrast when Merad enjoys being in joyful Northern France and when he has to go back to Nice to find again his depressed wife), clichés and also the performance as a whole. It's also comforting that such a film rode high at the French box office while other productions that were likely to be successes failed in spite of a conspicuous publicity campaign like "Astérix Aux Jeux Olympiques" (2008). And it's a film that should definitely reduce the detractors of Northern France to silence. So, I liked "Bienvenue Chez Les Ch'Ti's" but I doubt whether I would want to watch it again.

Finally a movie that is not the usual American comedies! Not judging the American comedies of course, I love them, but is a different movie for you to watch. Incredible story, different story, and really funny.

I would say that this movie is in the best ten comedies i've ever seen. A lot of adventure, comedy, a little drama, but amazing to watch.

I started watching this movie with no good expectations about it. I taught- French aren't funny- turns out they are really funny.

Again, don't listen to the bad reviews about this movie, even if you do, there's not much bad reviews about it(that's how good it is).

Be prepared for a good french movie. Good film!

Dany Boon's "Bienvenue chez les ch'tis" ("Welcome to the Sticks" in English) reminded me of "My Cousin Vinny" and "Doc Martin", with a big-city person coming to a small town and having trouble understanding the mores. In this case, a man from southern France gets sent to a small town in the north and having trouble with their accents (to say the least). While there are a lot of challenges for the guy to overcome, he's just as foreign to the townspeople.

In addition to the humor, the movie also looks at the stereotypes that people can have of those from certain regions (i.e., in the US, northerners tend to view southerners as ignorant yahoos). It's not the greatest French movie that I've ever seen, but it does a good job addressing the prejudices that the people throughout France have of each other. You just know that the French have countless stereotypes of foreigners. I recommend it.

This movie is easily the best French film that has come out in the last years. It is an excellent comedy with the two great actors Dany Boon and Kad Merad but the movie has also its philosophical, dramatical and sad parts.

This movie is extremely funny, it is really difficult to make me laugh but this film made me laugh really hard several times. The best examples are when the postman and his director are having some drinks with half of the town while they deliver the letters or the scenes in the old mining town of Bergues, This movie is extremely touching and emotional. When the excellent Kad Merad tells his new partners and friends about his lies and mistakes, you feel really sad and ashamed for him. The movie's finale is also very emotional and a perfect and really philosophical conclusion.

But the real star of the movie is the whole region, the Nord-Pas-de-Calais, where this movie is settled. This film presents strange and funny accents of the Sticks, their historical and charming towns, their way of living and thinking, their relation to the other parts of France and the clichés and prejudices about both sides. The Nord-Pas-de-Calais is more than just a part of France, it is a country within a country and a culture within a culture. I have been in this region for some weeks during an exchange program and I can tell that those people living there are mostly open-minded, very sympathetic and have many reasons to be proud of their region. I really like this movie as it reminds me of a few very positive and unforgettable memories. And I like the movie because it is different and finally a French film that doesn't present us Paris over and over again. The France is way more than just Paris and there are many beautiful and unique regions and people to discover and this successful and charming movie shows this to all the people out there.

For everyone that is interested in a touching, emotional and simply profound comedy movie or anyone that likes foreign cultures and lifestyles, this unique movie is an absolute masterpiece. I hope that other French regions will follow this example and make similar movies in the future and take the focus off Paris a little bit.