Gli infedeli

'The Players' is a breezy French comedy, a series of short films (by different directors) on the subject of male infidelity. The shortness of each segment keeps it fresh and lightweight; but there's an underlying theme to all these movies: that (married) men just have to seek our additional partners. The various films make them look ridiculous; but also seem to suggest that infidelity really is just something to laugh about, that it's a simple fact of life and that the aforementioned ridiculousness is its natural, and only proper, punishment. I laughed in places, but it's a movie without any real heart.

Engaging collage of the highs and lows of adultery.

They range from ribald comedy to actually locating a pretty dark place and not the dark place you would expect (I. E "JTM").

Really short ones cleanse the plate between the much longer ones. I can confidently say I've never had a cinematic experience quite like it though I dare say there are some parts I don't remember because they were forgettable.

Humour and vulgarity can be very close to each other. And if you are not very cautious, yuu fall into vulgarity. This is the problem with this movie. It could have been funny. It could have been enjoyable if the characters were not that extreme in their behaviour. Dujardin and Lellouche are such good actors. This is just sad.

Reading the reviews here people seem to think they came to see a sociological essay on infidelity and this is anything but

• What we have here is a comedy a pee-stake a joke and it seems many expect massive depth research this is not what this is about this is making fun of poor behaviour from married men in specifically French society where the values regarding fidelity are really very different from Anglo-Saxon values. So many feel unable to understand what is going on here ... it appears

• This is a collage of vignettes and long pieces and some of them are more successful than others they are also each one of them filmed by a different director which gives them a completely different flavour. One of them done by Jan Kounen was so rude that it was removed from the theatre copy and is only available on video I have seen that one previously and frankly to cut it out it's no big problem ... worth seeing tho

• I watched this 10 years ago about maybe six I cannot remember exactly and could never forget forget this film for me the best cut is the one with Sandrine Kiberlain by far the best cut the unrepentant cheaters in a circle in a sort of AA meeting for the unfaithful with her as the leader and the only female in the room.

• The look of boredom on their faces the lack of desire to be there most are there due to an ultimatum from their wives. It is impossible not to explode with laughter when she faces one of the attendees and asks him in a totally straight face "Tu la veux ma petite chatte ? " You can see the actors found it hard to keep a straight face doing the Scene

None of them return the next day obviously; totally failing to see why they were there in the first place.

It Must be stressed that some of the segments are comedy some of them are dark psychologically and very sad cause they show the emptiness in the men trying to justify to themselves or their friends why it is that they are doing this so in a way the in-depth psycho-sociological is also present here and leaves a really bad aftertaste

Most of the time we are looking at the two main actors Jean Dujardin and Gilles Lellouche showing what incredibly great actors they are I have seen both of them now in comedies and dramas and they can do all of it at a really high level. Sandrine Kiberlain is also an awesome actress and there are a couple of instances where we see Guillaume Canet who at the time was up and coming he then became a huge actor and director. It seems often people do not really understand what they are looking at you can see that from the reviews this is comedy this is a bawdy tale With some in-depth elements but just by the by the main drive here is entertainment and comedy and if that is the only criterium used I would certainly say this was a very successful endeavour; I then find out that Italians made a remake of this in 2020 under the auspices of Netflix and its title is Gli infedeli (2020)

Most reviewers seem to agree it is a pale copy of the French original I will nonetheless give it a whirl see what it is like

This one here though I highly recommend.

I must be exactly the right age and marital status to like this show. I didn't think it would be very good but from the very beginning it grabbed my attention and just wouldn't let go. All characters, young and old, married and single were very bondable (is that a word). I enjoyed from beginning to end. Amazon really scored on this one. Of course, had I been a year older or younger, or a year more married or single I might not have liked it so much. So, I'll just count it as a favorite French film of mine, no matter what anyone else thinks.