La vache

This here is not a complacent review out to be over-enthusiastic about the Algerian-French phenomenon, but rather one that looks at the genuine quality of this very refreshing, honest, solidly crafted and well inspired contemporary comedy.

The plot is simple, and it's the adventure in the various places it takes the lead 'Fatah', the journey including the different people, sensitivities and emotions he discovers, the Algeria vs France contradictions and intrinsic antagonisms, and ultimately, his epiphany while being away from home in discovering more about himself from a newer perspective.

The film overall is very well crafted, perfectly coherent and follows a very good rhythm. The jokes are good, the humor is lively and very culturally-charged and finally there are many little references/remarks/hints with implication and symbol that require a particular wit in understanding carefully laid throughout the playtime.

I have a lot of respect and appreciation for French comedies, because the French have already shown that they have a sense of humor and know how to make people laugh in the comedies they make. So it was with "Taxi" in 1998, and much more recently with "Intouchables". And now, by mere chance, I stumbled upon this delightful film, where a friendly Algerian farmer seeks to fulfill an old dream: to go to Paris, with his dear Tarentaise cow named Jacquelline, and present her at the French Agricultural Fair. The film is nothing original, it is not a masterpiece, nor was it made with the idea of becoming one. It is, above all, a good piece of entertainment.

It is a film that very happily mixes the almost childlike naivety of an innocent dream with a very tasteful, intelligent comedy, sometimes with slight touches of irony, very suitable for a family evening and that promises to please everyone, or almost all. The director, Mohamed Hamidi, knew how to give the characters (and particularly the protagonist) strength and sympathy, developing them properly and without wasting much time. The protagonist is very pleasant, friendly, and it is impossible not to like him, and his cow, apparently sweet and expressive. In between, other characters emerge, such as the protagonist's wife, the wealthy and haughty rival, a penniless aristocrat with a generous heart, and the brother-in-law who has been living in France for a few years.

Fatsah Bouyahmed deserves a round of applause for the way he played her character. He gave Fatah a kindness and naïveté that are almost hard to believe, but that we like to feel in people who are really good. Lambert Wilson is also not far behind, with a very convincing and sympathetic interpretation of an educated and well-born man, but on whom luck has not smiled, and which shows quite well the difficulties through which the families of the old European nobility have passed, with the loss of privileges and the increasingly costly maintenance of their former family estates. The Moroccan Hajar Masdouki was also very good in his role. I confess that I found the relationship between the characters strange, as husband and wife, but being a very different culture from ours, I am willing to consider the strangeness I felt as a result of this "culture shock". I didn't like so much Jamel Debbouze and his character. I think, along with Abdellah Chakiri's, they are the most unsympathetic characters here, but Debbouze's was really poorly developed.

Technically, the film is regular and effective. It doesn't have great effects or sets, but makes good use of the filming locations in France (although the film is set between France and Algeria). The cinematography is regular, but it works really well and the jokes are good, they're smart, they're very younger-appropriate. I especially liked a situation in which the main character ends up being induced to drink alcohol and makes some mistakes, which gives us an interesting and prophylactic message about the dangers of consuming these drinks. The camera work was good, the editing is adequate, and the pacing of the film is delightful. If there's one thing I didn't particularly like, it was the ending... I felt that the film ends suddenly and too quickly, and that there's a lack of a sequence that concludes the film more smoothly: the scenes of the character's return home could have been used. In that sense, rather than being included in the end credits.

A peasant from remote village in Algeria gets an invitation to attend an international bovine show in Paris after years of applying for it. Although the villagers mock his devotion to his cow Jaqueline, they lend him money for the journey, as it is a village code to help the neighbours. Fatah and Jaqueline set off to Paris on foot after crossing the Mediterranean Sea. It's a bit like Ulysses in Homer's Odyssey; will he get there on time? The plot isn't original by any means, but the film conveys the old truth that the innocence and good humour can move even the most obdurate hearts.

La Vache is a French comedy describing Fatah, an Algerian peasant from an obscure village, whose dream is to take his beloved cow Jacqueline to the Paris agricultural fair and competition. With the help of his fellow villagers, Jacqeline and Fatah cross the Mediterranean and start walking across France to Paris. Fatah meets many good people who help him and love his good humor and innocence, while he becomes a TV and Web celebrity and his progress is watched by millions in France, and also by his native village. Will he make the competition? Will Jacqueline win? You'll have to watch the movie to find out. I had a few laughs and enjoyed Fatsah Bouyahmed acting Fatah, but for the most of it one gets the feeling that one has seen this movie many times. In a nutshell it is blow-by-blow a parallel to The World Fastest Indian. Both heroes cross the sea (or the ocean) to get their beloved possession (the cow Jacqeline or the antique Indian motorcycle) for a world- class competition, both get financially helped by their compatriots, both meet with sometimes serious and often funny obstacles, both encounter romantic possibilities, both have to get to the competition at the last minute (and are denied entrance). Morevoer, both heroes project good humor, perseverance, and their non-blase naivete presents simple wisdom that puts the convoluted and frantic West way of life to true test. Despite these superficial similarities, The World Wld Fastest Indian is an intelligent, refined and meaningful humorous drama, while La Vache is Junior High level slapstick. Although Bouyahmed is endearing, he is a far shot from Anthony Hopkins. And last, but far from least, Jacqueline is just a cow (and not terribly attractive at that), whereas the Indian bike has a soul. As for photography, Fatah and his Cow walking through French cities is far from the beautiful, lyrical night scene of Vittorio De Sica walking his elephant through empty Rome in Hello Elephant. A harmless small movie, OK for early teens and those that would like to go back to that age.

Do not hesitate to watch it, it's well worth it. Funny, interesting feel good movie with an unusual and original plot. .