Un momento di follia

The film has a weak start and ends the same. I don't know what was I expecting from that review. It's a silly story, predictable, it was only made with the finality of being liked. Generally, the performances were a mess, even the soundtrack was annoying. Sincerely, I don't recommend this movie, don't waste your time.

Greetings again from the darkness. In 1977, French Producer-Writer-Director-Actor Claude Berri directed a film version of his own original screenplay entitled IN A WILD MOMENT. In 1984, director Stanley Donen's (SINGIN' IN THE RAIN) final feature film was an Americanized remake that inexplicably left Mr. Berri as uncredited. Perhaps that's how Berri preferred it, since Donen's BLAME IT ON RIO was atrocious and nearly unwatchable despite a cast that included Michael Caine and a 21 year old Demi Moore. This third iteration, directed by Jean-Francois Richet (who co-wrote the adapted screenplay with Lisa Azuelos) does credit Berri, and returns the material to France where it's a better fit.

Best friends Antoine and Laurent take their teenage daughters Louna and Marie (who are also best friends) on holiday to Antoine's childhood home in the Corsica countryside. The house is a bit rustic and neglected, has spotty (at best) internet, includes a family burial plot, and is miles from town. The only neighbor is an elderly gentleman and his roaming dog. The girls aren't nearly as taken with the serenity as their dads seem to be.

Both dads are loving and protective of their daughters, though the usual teenager-parent squabbles occur regularly. Watching the interactions between the dads and daughters, between the two men, and between the two teenagers is quite entertaining and exceedingly believable. Of course, the core of the story is what happens in one "wild" moment when Laurent is simply being supportive of Antoine's daughter Louna - and her teenage crush of the older man shifts into seduction. A late night naked frolic on the beach crosses the line that should never be crossed. Laurent instantly regrets the action, and Louna falls "in love" like only a teenager can.

The rest of the movie becomes an uneasy dance of lies, threats, insinuations and betrayals. Most of it is handled with a comedic intentions, and that compounds the feelings of queasiness and disgust that we have towards Laurent and his unacceptable and unforgivable (and illegal) actions. We see the two men frazzled for much different reasons. Though he doesn't know the identity of the "older man" who took advantage of his daughter, Antoine is obsessed with tracking him down and making him pay. On the other hand, Laurent is desperate to keep the secret from his friend, and that forces him to play along with Louna's taunting games.

Two of France's biggest stars, Vincent Cassel (MESRINE) and Francois Cluzet (THE INTOUCHABLES, TELL NO ONE) play Laurent and Antoine, respectively, while Lola Le Lann (age 19 during filming) and Alice Isaaz are Louna and Marie. Mr. Cassel and Ms. Isaaz are especially effective - he in a no-win role, and she leaving us wanting even more characterization.

Though it was filmed more than 3 years ago, it's now getting a second life. Original writer Claude Berri is probably best known for his stellar work on JEAN DE FLORETTE and MANON OF THE SPRING, and we can't help but think his script would work better in contemporary times if the comedy turned much darker and made it abundantly clear that Laurent's actions were entirely unacceptable - instead of leaving his response to young Louna's come-on as understandable. The film is produced by Thomas Langmann, the son of Claude Berri, and kicks off with the beautiful and familiar version of "La Mer", a 1946 song by Charles Trenet.

There is a reason that some of the other reviewers have noted that the plot of this movie is very similar to the 1984 American film "Blame It on Rio". BOTH movies are remakes of a now largely forgotten 1977 French film with the same title as this one, "Un Moment d'engarement" ("One Wild Moment"). It is interesting though that the French are STILL making films like this, while the Americans wouldn't touch this subject today with a ten-foot pole. It's very doubtful older teenage girls have become more virginal since the 1970's and 1980's, and the idea that a sexual relationship between a younger person and an older person is ALWAYS "predatory" (provided the younger person is old enough to be sexually active in the first place)is a lot more debatable than it is often made out to be. Are sexually active teenage girls really a lot better off with an inexperienced guy "their own age" who doesn't even know how to successfully use a condom?

For me though it is pretty simple. There are A LOT of things that seem exciting and enticing in movies, but would be extremely foolish and probably disastrous to do in real life. I definitely wouldn't lie down on the train tracks and let a train pass over me, even though it seems exciting when they do it in movies, and by the same token, while I enjoy the fantasy of movies like this (or the two earlier versions), I certainly wouldn't do it in real life. I doubt even in real-life France that middle-age men routinely sleep with their friends' teenage daughters, but the French also just don't have the ridiculous puritanical hang-ups of Americans when it comes to anything having to do with S-E-X, and thank god for that.

For what it's worth, this version does make one concession to our more cautionary times. While the young actresses in the original "Un Moment d'engarement" and "Blame It On Rio" were both slightly underage themselves at the time like their characters, the actress here, Lola Le Lann, was actually about twenty, and ANY male of ANY age will find her VERY attractive as she frolics around completely naked in the surf. Ooh-la-la! I do think they should have switched the male roles and had the more mature and repressed Francois Cluzet get involved with his friend's daughter as opposed to the more youthful and "dangerous" Vincent Cassell. (That dynamic worked better in "Blame It On Rio" where the hapless Michael Caine had to deal with the volatile Joseph Bologna, who was trying to find the older man who slept with his daughter). Still this is a pretty entertaining and sexy movie, but definitely don't expect another American remake in this day and age.

I've watched this movie three times now, and each time it gets funnier. I liked the way the movie took its time to set the scene because you need to be quite tuned into the characters and the situation to enjoy how things unfold. I've always liked Vincent Cassel as an actor but have never seen him in a comic role; he was brilliant in this, really stole the show. His facial expressions were priceless and Francois Cluzet was his perfect sidekick. There were even a few more serious moments towards the end which I thought worked well and rang true. If you watch this with an open mind it's a lot of fun.

French movies are either so boring and dull or totally opposite: really awesome. This one is really great and kinda feel good movie ( at least for me).

What I liked about the movie... I liked the landscapes and whole background. Really nice nature of the Corsica ( though I believe it was filmed somewhere in the south of France) and colors of the summer. The soundtrack to the movie was surprisingly new - Lean On, Diamonds by Rihanna and many recent hits. The girls are really believable ( well, I guess all they had to do is to be themselves) and Vincent. The other dad was over dramatic and I had a feeling he was trying too hard to act those angry and awkward situations that he becomes cartoonishly silly.

I did not know that the movie is a remake of the 70's movie... I might look for it. The whole summertime feel and carelessness feel remind me of another French movie: The Pool.

All in all, the movie is really watchable and enjoyable. It ends with a girl smiling...and I couldn't help but smile too.

Seven + from me.