Le Grand Bain

A great cast with many of France's beloved actors. I would call this film is a low-key comedy (as in not the dumb-dumb stuff we sometimes see) tangled with real life drama. It's a pleasure to watch as we delve into each character's life, where is more than meets the eye. It's well acted, well directed, and overall makes for good viewing. Rather on the feel-good side of things - it's mostly believable, and when not, remember it's a comedy ;)

I was skeptic about this film, but it proved me totally wrong. It's really powerful and emotive, a beautiful story about a group of man each failing his life in his own way and trying to reclaim their manhood through Synchronized swimming. it might sound absurd said like this but it's really good a perfect reflexion of the crisis of masculinity of our time, add to it it's a perfectly funny and comical film.

This is a lovely little fun movie. It will bring a smile to your face and a happy tear to your jaded eye.

The very fact of making a movie about men in these years when women's films are the focus of attention is a proof of originality from the director and co-scriptwriter Gilles Lellouche, better known as an actor and only at his second film after a pause of 14 years. Even more, the heroes are not comics characters or super-spies saving the world, neither great thinkers, politicians, or other celebrities of the day, but rather a collection of middle-aged men, each with its problems and failures, who find their escapist refuge in practicing one of the most feminine possible sports - synchronized (or artistic) swimming. And no, none of them is gay, this is not the theme of 'Le Grand Bain'.

The subject is taken from a real case in Sweden, and in parallel with the French movie, an English film that I have not seen yet has also been produced and released to screens. As it often happens, the label 'inspired by a true story' is a good excuse for situations and a story that seem incredible at first sight or hearing. The model is of course 'The Full Monty' which I liked a lot about 20 years ago. The story has an air of deja vu, but paradoxically this does not matter because the approach is light and empathic. Each of the heroes comes with his personal history and the problems of each of the characters are gradually revealed in a well-orchestrated chaining alertly edited together. The common denominator is the need to compensate for the professional or family failures of each of the heroes with the sporting teamwork in which eight or ten personal failures can be gathered to create collective success by accepting the differences and rejecting the macho patterns of the surrounding society.

Gilles Lellouche gathers some of the most popular of his fellow actors in this film. I viewed with great pleasure, as always, Mathieu Amalric and Benoît Poelvoorde, two of my preferred actors in the francophone space. I also liked the interpretation of Philippe Katerine whom I knew less. There are also some less explored threads that could have been developed (the Sri Lankan team mate - the only 'stranger' in the team, the stories of the two girls), but on the other hand maybe it's better that the film does not try to to send too many messages risking to dilute in too many directions. As it stands now, 'Le Grand Bain' is a humorous and empathetic film which succeeds in conveying a credible and important "feel-good" message, despite the routine or lack of credibility of some of the details.

This i am rating as my film of the year, it has got to be the most wonderful and well paced story i have seen this year, good pace, good acting and none of the usual plots. I recommend it to anyone wanting that little lift out of mediocrity, that something to pull them from the mundane day to day viewing. Watch it and you will come away refreshed and ready for another day on earth, i did not even know i was also watching the subtitles from halfway, and at the end the story told itself without words. Be you any nationality, you will connect with each character, wonderful and uplifting experience, oh, it's good to be alive