English Title: All Hands On Deck
Director: Guillaume Brac
2020
Comedy
Running Time: 1h 35mins
Cert: 12A
French with English Subtitles
“A terrifically fresh and funny film channelling 21st Century Éric Rohmer and Carry on Camping in a gentle modern-day holiday rom-com.”
On a hot summer night in Paris, Félix meets a young woman, Alma, and falls in love. The next morning, Alma hops on a train to join her family in the beautiful Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of south eastern France. Félix, determined to follow his soulmate, embarks on a carpool ride with his best friend Chérif and their reluctant driver Edouard. When the car breaks down upon arrival, things turn sour: Alma doesn’t seem too pleased by this unexpected visit.
The French title is À L’Abordage!, more properly translated as “Attack!”, yet the film moves with a deceptively easy swing and, without ever seeming to try very hard, covers an awful lot of narrative ground, bringing in a large cast of characters and letting us get to know them very well, while all the time setting up the humour. Director Guillaume Brac and his co-writer Catherine Paillé, along with their very young cast, have created a treat about seizing the day and fortune favouring the bold.
