Mercredi, folle journée!

In France, wednesday is the day devoted to children because they don't go to school. The problem is that their parents aren't always there to take care of them. As a consequence, it's enough for their children to get into mischief or they're running away (unwittingly or not). There's another solution: parents can keep their children with them even if they have to work on wednesday.

To tell this mad day, Pascal Thomas chose an outline which isn't really original: an estranged and scatterbrained man (Vincent Lindon) must keep his daughter during one full day but he's caught up by his professional obligations and they make his duty hard. It's all the more as his daughter shows cleverness. But finally, the end of the day will see the two characters become partners and inseparable.

In parallel and probably in order to air the subject, Thomas showed shrewdness because he also built his movie around several little plots either funny either dramatic that cope with each other and resolve individually.

Otherwise, Thomas' movie remains a nice one but a bit colorless. He leaves several sequences high and dry and in spite of good (and sometimes harrowing) moments, his making appears a bit of a mess, clumsy, not always well mastered.

Whereas Vincent Lindon, he's friendly but I think his performance lacks of punch and I don't find him expressive enough. His main partner sometimes steals him the show. Besides, you can blame Thomas for not being demanding enough towards his actors.

At the end, the movie gives a mixed impression and left me unsatisfied. Nevertheless, Thomas can sustain the interest during all the movie although the little plots are of varying quality.

As French movie makers really don't need US movies to copy their stories, this movie doesn't just reflect one parent-kid-relation, which might be the most wanted and most treated subject of US movies (which therefore I find boring so I don't watch them if not, sometimes, for the actors/actresses involved) ... This brilliant movie is a story about the sweetness of childhood, against and through all bad that might interfere from the world of adults. Children's life in fact can, or should, be as serious as a game, as most adults forget once they passed the line to adultness. Pascal Thomas created a sweet fairy tale about a happy summer's day, combining the convincing play of Vincent Lindon, Alessandra Martines and more great french actors with the beautiful site of Nantes, introducing great acting talent Victoria Lafaurie and other promising young actresses. This is a movie that will touch all those who'd like to dream about a life far from responsibilities as we had (or should have had) as children.

Saw this on TV a couple of days ago, I was expecting a French version of "One Fine Day" but was rather disappointed (even fell asleep for a time ). Picture quality excellent and we get to discover the beautiful city of Nantes in Central Western France. However the plot is abysmal, I was expecting to see development of a relationship between father and daughter, but only a small part of the film is about this, though we do see some bonding towards the end. There are too many different subplots in the film which don't lead anywhere ( plot is oh ! so important ) and I really got the feeling in this case that the subject had been wasted because of a lousy script. There have been other French films of this nature with far better plots but this one was a failure. Unfortunately, the more the years pass, the more failures of this kind there are. The cinema is certainly in need of creativity these days !

On the surface, this may seem a simple, typical French frolic, with too many characters, too many intertwined story lines - a little too much of everything stuffed into a two hour (!) piece of carefree entertainment.

OTOH, from a less superficial point of view though, this can be seen as outstanding ensemble work, well scripted, - acted and edited about the absurdity of everyday life. A school class in Nantes, France, has the day off to play and the kids get to spend time with their parents. The parents of the schoolchildren lead a hectic life full of stress and relationship blues, hardly knowing what to dowith their children when they're off school.

The beauty of this film is, that it tells a story, without ever becoming boring, about how trivial our everyday lives are. If you understand French well enough, you'll find a lot of subtle and painful jokes, without ever turning into cynicism.

How much better are we than our children? Or haven't we ever grown up? These seem the relevant questions here.

The acting (as usual ensemble piece: an all star cast) is very good and contains finesse. Special regard must go to the many children that not only inhabit, but beautifully embody the story. The director did an excellent job by letting the girls and boys, without acting experience, look natural and sane in the midst of the frenzies the grown ups produce. Well done job there.

All in all, Mercredi folle journee is an achievement. Maybe not a masterpiece, but at least a good example of French comedy, and a Saturday afternoon well spent.