Bon voyage
- 2003
- Tous publics
- 1h 54m
IMDb RATING
6.7/10
5.3K
YOUR RATING
An actress, a writer, a student, and a government worker band together in an effort to escape Paris as the Germans move into the city.An actress, a writer, a student, and a government worker band together in an effort to escape Paris as the Germans move into the city.An actress, a writer, a student, and a government worker band together in an effort to escape Paris as the Germans move into the city.
- Awards
- 7 wins & 8 nominations total
Catherine Chevallier
- La fille de l'érudit
- (as Catherine Chevalier)
Featured reviews
This movie was unique in the fact that it took place in the few months prior to and during the Nazi invasion of WWII. This gave the film a hectic atmosphere, as the French government and those surrounding it are in constant chaos while fleeing the approaching Blitzkrieg. For once we see the great disruption that war causes to millions of innocents, not just the horrors that occur on the front. However I don't agree with he genre characterization that it is a comedy- as it is a very entertaining blend of mystery, double-crossing and drama, as well as a few funny moments. Gerard Depardieu didn't have a overbearing role in the film, but played just one of the many interesting characters that are introduced. I was also surprised by Peter Coyote's French and German language skills - and I think it's worth commenting that an American was included in a French film - and I'm glad to say he held his own. Of course Ms. Adjani and Virginie Ledoyen play excellent roles- there's just something about those French ladies...
This superb French farce is brilliant, and I normally don't like farce of any kind. The actors are wonderful, the story line is fantastic, the photography and staging are beautiful, and the atmosphere of the film is extraordinarily engaging. My wife, teen-age daughter, and I went to see the film this evening and all three of us absolutely loved it - a rarity in itself.
But what is perhaps the film's strongest suit is its gentle comedy and insight into human nature. Even when the French are making complete fools of themselves their essential qualities shine through, and this film brings new meaning to the term "coquettish."
I most heartily recommend Bon Voyage.
But what is perhaps the film's strongest suit is its gentle comedy and insight into human nature. Even when the French are making complete fools of themselves their essential qualities shine through, and this film brings new meaning to the term "coquettish."
I most heartily recommend Bon Voyage.
An interesting pairing of stories, this little flick manages to bring together seemingly different characters and story lines all in the backdrop of WWII and succeeds in tying them together without losing the audience. I was impressed by the depth portrayed by the different characters and also by how much I really felt I understood them and their motivations, even though the time spent on the development of each character was very limited. The outstanding acting abilities of the individuals involved with this picture are easily noted. A fun, stylized movie with a slew of comic moments and a bunch more head shaking events.
7/10
7/10
Director and auteur Jean-Pierre Rappenau was 8 years old during the spring of 1940 as France's Third Republic disintegrated in a matter of a few weeks. It was a time, he says, when "all the adults were a little bit insane." He and the production staff have lovingly and meticulously recreated that world in a film where all the characters are essentially fictional. The structure, a classic farce, is ideal for the period as multiple plot lines zip and intersect only to come together in a logical, satisfying conclusion. The peg for this plot is Frederic, played by brilliant newcomer Gregory Derangere, who is fully up to playing opposite Adjani, Depardieu and Ledoyen. The real strength of the film is in its supporting performances. M. Rappeneau has cast the film exquisitely with actors who volunteered ideas for both action and dialogue and who know and prove that it is possible to fully realize a character with just two short sentences of dialogue. Though not yet as widely influential as Renoir's 'Rules of the Game,' 'Bon Voyage' richly deserves to be a companion piece to that classic. Though it demands a lot of the audience, it gives much back. One of its demands is tolerance for a certain coyness and misdirection as to the exact genre we are watching: a crime melodrama, no, a spy thriller, ah, a romantic comedy. Recommend it to cinemaphile friends. Just be sure to let them discover for themselves that it is a romantic comedy.
'Bon Voyage' is a pallid Gallic farce set during the early days of the Nazi occupation of France. The over-complicated plot revolves around a self-absorbed movie actress directly or indirectly involved with a patsy author, a spineless government official, Nazi collaborators, and French resistance fighters attempting to smuggle heavy water over to England.
Though the movie does exude a certain manic energy at times, director Jean-Pierre Rappeneau too often mistakes movement for style - in the naïve hope, apparently, that if he just keeps everyone running around from one location to another, we won't have time to notice that there really isn't anything fun or interesting going on in the story department. The final result of all this ceaseless hubbub is that the film simply ends up wearing us out trying to keep up with it, an exhaustion compounded by the fact that we often aren't quite sure who all these people are and what it is they're exactly up to. The movie looks great physically and Rappeneau does have a certain way with crowd scenes, but those virtues are really all for naught when the characters and storyline are both so conspicuously unengaging.
The movie features at least two legends of modern French cinema, Isabelle Adjani and Gerard Depardieu, who, along with the rest of the cast, capture the arch mannerisms necessary for a film with its roots essentially planted in Feydeau farce. Regrettably, the film, for all its excessive huffing and puffing, fails to come to life on the screen, an unhappy turn of events given all the energy and talent involved in its making.
Though the movie does exude a certain manic energy at times, director Jean-Pierre Rappeneau too often mistakes movement for style - in the naïve hope, apparently, that if he just keeps everyone running around from one location to another, we won't have time to notice that there really isn't anything fun or interesting going on in the story department. The final result of all this ceaseless hubbub is that the film simply ends up wearing us out trying to keep up with it, an exhaustion compounded by the fact that we often aren't quite sure who all these people are and what it is they're exactly up to. The movie looks great physically and Rappeneau does have a certain way with crowd scenes, but those virtues are really all for naught when the characters and storyline are both so conspicuously unengaging.
The movie features at least two legends of modern French cinema, Isabelle Adjani and Gerard Depardieu, who, along with the rest of the cast, capture the arch mannerisms necessary for a film with its roots essentially planted in Feydeau farce. Regrettably, the film, for all its excessive huffing and puffing, fails to come to life on the screen, an unhappy turn of events given all the energy and talent involved in its making.
Did you know
- ConnectionsFeatured in Un homme à la hauteur (2016)
- How long is Bon Voyage?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Languages
- Also known as
- Bon Voyage
- Filming locations
- Sous la colonnade du Grand Théâtre, Place de la Comédie, Bordeaux, Gironde, France(scene between Alex and Viviane)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $20,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $2,503,286
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $38,682
- Oct 19, 2003
- Gross worldwide
- $9,324,931
- Runtime
- 1h 54m(114 min)
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content