FR 2002 (97′)- Dir.: Lucas Belvaux. With Ornella Muti, François Morel, Dominique Blanc, Gilbert Melki.
Un couple épatant tells the story of a hypochondria who is so stressed out that he makes up a whole conspiracy theory. He constantly changes is last will, nervously spoken into a dictaphone. His wife Cécile is convinced he has a mistress.
Un couple épatant has some funny moments, but is never really convincing. It is a typical ‘French’ film in the sense that France is probably the only country in the world where the web of lovers and mistresses is common practice. “It’s not my fault, it’s a family thing,” tells daughter Louise desparately to her boyfriend, after he found her with another man.
The film is the first in a trilogy, of which the other two films ‘Cavale’ and ‘Après la vie’ will be released next week in France. I will review them next week as well. The three films only have the same people in common, and the same city, Grenoble, in the French Alps. The other two won’t be comedies, but a drama and a thriller. I wonder whether the three films together will become more interesting than the separate parts.
