Finally got around to watching the cute French film dealing with interracial adoption. It's a comedy with some parts that pull at the heart strings. Maternal grandmother steals all the scenes, I wish she was in the film even more. Some of the storyline was very over the top but it's lighthearted. Watch and enjoy
9 Reviews
Nice comedy 6/10
saadanathan31 December 2020
Il a déjà tes yeux is a nice and cute french comedy. About a couple who adopts a child who is white. Causing some feud in the family. This movie is funny and emotional, has a good message of acceptance in the face of doubt. The only problem it suffers from is the use of the same storyline: two parents from one race adopts a child from a different race, causing a lot of problems and doubts. This kind of storytelling has already been used multiple times in movies with this kind of plot. So it isn't renewable if the parents are from a different race. Because this kind of story has already been told. Anyway it's a good movie with nice moments.
Starts okay, but turns into a gigantic mess
Horst_In_Translation21 July 2017
Warning: Spoilers
"Il a déjà tes yeux" or "He Even Has Your Eyes" is a French 95-minute film that premiered last year. The writer and director is Lucien Jean-Baptiste and he also appears in here as an actor, but despite being the boy's father, he never felt as much as a a lead actor like Aïssa Maïga for example. I saw her in another French film recently and that one was about a Black doctor trying to have a career in the French countryside, so I guess she found her niche. As for the film's quality, that one I just mentioned gets better the longer it goes while this one here gets worse and worse. The title pretty much tells you that it is mostly comedy and when it tries to be really nothing (or almost nothing) except that in the first 40-50 minutes, it is a decent watch and I was tempted to give it a ***/***** rating. But then, things go south fairly quickly. I guess they could keep the premise of a Black couple adopting a White child only for so long and certainly not for over an hour. Even Marie-Philomène Nga, who admittedly was somewhat entertaining early on, quickly lost her charm. The only one in the cast who is consistently funny from start to finish is Vincent Elbaz and I hope he gets some awards recognition for his performance here as he honestly was the only one who kept this from becoming an even bigger mess.
Now lets talk a bit about Aïssa Maïga's character. She really is the epitome of what is wrong with this film. It's not even the actress' fault really, but it was clearly the filmmakers' attention that we care for her that we want her to succeed, but the way she was written was disastrous. I am sure everybody who is not capable of looking below the surface will like her and will cheer for her, but these are really just the easily entertained, the ones who call Breitman's character a bitch during the viewing. Anyway, back to Maiga, there were more than just a few scenes where I felt her character was highly unlikable, like when she is at the playground and behaves really mean towards the harmless and friendly approach from another woman. Or when she lies about a death in her family towards Breitman's character. Or when she says right away that she cannot stand the latter although at that point Breitman's character really did nothing wrong at all. Or when she is also at least partially responsible for what happens at the very end, namely the way the other woman gets arrested, maybe deported even. What a charmer. She must really love her child.
Yeah well I mentioned the end already, but i want to go into detail a bit more. Breitman's character suddenly realizes that Maiga is the right mother for the kid. That came out of nowhere. But it's fine because everybody else suddenly realizes it too. Maiga's dad. Maiga's mother, she was admittedly somewhat reasonable etc. The rest of the family. All of a sudden, the White boy is a member of the family like everybody else. Who cares what the parenting institution says. You want to know the reason for that. The reason is that it is a forced happy ending. An ending that has absolutely nothing to do with reality and makes basically the entire film before that pointless because all conflicts are solved completely out of nowhere and they are still trying to sell it to us as an authentic film. But it was somewhat expected when the film turned into nothing but stupid noise eventually with the hullabaloo and the chase scenes at the hospital. The "hostage situation". And the worst was probably Maiga's character's reaction. She was so scared of losing the boy and then all of a sudden she just says that she wants him to get a good family. Doesn't make sense either. I am sure the people I mentioned earlier will come up with an explanation, but she was so emotionally tormented and she knew she would lose the kid after what happened at the hospital etc. Nonsense I say. This is a film that ended for the happiness of the audience and completely ignored the previous 80 minutes in terms of story-telling. The longer it went, the worse it became. I would not say it was really the actors' fault. The script is the issues here as it all turns to shambles eventually. I believe that French films are superior to German films right now, especially comedies, but this one here is the French equivalent to "Willkommen bei den Hartmanns". Fake feel-good stuff and desperate attempts to make a contemporarily relevant movie while messing up big style in terms of drama, emotions and realism. Don't watch. Or turn it off halfway into the film if you want to do without all the cringe that happens afterward. Without the solid start, I'd have given it only */*****.
Now lets talk a bit about Aïssa Maïga's character. She really is the epitome of what is wrong with this film. It's not even the actress' fault really, but it was clearly the filmmakers' attention that we care for her that we want her to succeed, but the way she was written was disastrous. I am sure everybody who is not capable of looking below the surface will like her and will cheer for her, but these are really just the easily entertained, the ones who call Breitman's character a bitch during the viewing. Anyway, back to Maiga, there were more than just a few scenes where I felt her character was highly unlikable, like when she is at the playground and behaves really mean towards the harmless and friendly approach from another woman. Or when she lies about a death in her family towards Breitman's character. Or when she says right away that she cannot stand the latter although at that point Breitman's character really did nothing wrong at all. Or when she is also at least partially responsible for what happens at the very end, namely the way the other woman gets arrested, maybe deported even. What a charmer. She must really love her child.
Yeah well I mentioned the end already, but i want to go into detail a bit more. Breitman's character suddenly realizes that Maiga is the right mother for the kid. That came out of nowhere. But it's fine because everybody else suddenly realizes it too. Maiga's dad. Maiga's mother, she was admittedly somewhat reasonable etc. The rest of the family. All of a sudden, the White boy is a member of the family like everybody else. Who cares what the parenting institution says. You want to know the reason for that. The reason is that it is a forced happy ending. An ending that has absolutely nothing to do with reality and makes basically the entire film before that pointless because all conflicts are solved completely out of nowhere and they are still trying to sell it to us as an authentic film. But it was somewhat expected when the film turned into nothing but stupid noise eventually with the hullabaloo and the chase scenes at the hospital. The "hostage situation". And the worst was probably Maiga's character's reaction. She was so scared of losing the boy and then all of a sudden she just says that she wants him to get a good family. Doesn't make sense either. I am sure the people I mentioned earlier will come up with an explanation, but she was so emotionally tormented and she knew she would lose the kid after what happened at the hospital etc. Nonsense I say. This is a film that ended for the happiness of the audience and completely ignored the previous 80 minutes in terms of story-telling. The longer it went, the worse it became. I would not say it was really the actors' fault. The script is the issues here as it all turns to shambles eventually. I believe that French films are superior to German films right now, especially comedies, but this one here is the French equivalent to "Willkommen bei den Hartmanns". Fake feel-good stuff and desperate attempts to make a contemporarily relevant movie while messing up big style in terms of drama, emotions and realism. Don't watch. Or turn it off halfway into the film if you want to do without all the cringe that happens afterward. Without the solid start, I'd have given it only */*****.
Excellent comedy - makes you think.
ThurzdayNext7 May 2017
I really enjoyed this film. Starring the glorious Aissa Maiga as one half of the lead couple who adopt a baby and keep his ethnicity a secret from their family. On the one side, you've got a social worker whose prejudice drives her surprise visits, seeking faults in the home or familial environment, and on the other, you've got the baby's adopted grandmother, doing what West African mothers do best - exaggerate everything! Luckily, she does this to comic effect, and I couldn't stop laughing throughout the film.
From the social worker's perspective, it's alright for white couples to adopt black children, as this is an already accepted practice, but it is not in the best interest of a white child to be adopted (or to be the first) by a black couple.
Without giving anything more away, I'll simply say that this is a great film to watch with friends and family, alike.
From the social worker's perspective, it's alright for white couples to adopt black children, as this is an already accepted practice, but it is not in the best interest of a white child to be adopted (or to be the first) by a black couple.
Without giving anything more away, I'll simply say that this is a great film to watch with friends and family, alike.
Lighthearted and uplifting treatment of a serious subject
richard-fieldhouse1 March 2018
This film makes a fun comedy out of the serious issue that social services tend not to be so keen on mixed race adoptions - and in this case, particularly where the baby is white.
The acting from all the cast is very strong. If I were to look for faults, I'd have to say that rather too much of the weight of inner conflict is settled on the shoulders of a single character - Claire Mallet. Doing this, I suppose, helps to keep the plot "tight", but at times it does make her motivations a little hard to accept. But don't worry. Just enjoy the story.
Unfortunately, as they get excited - which they do - the French gets a little difficult for some of us - and the subtitles start to flash up and dissappear very fast. So in terms of improving your French - this film is definitely not for beginners.
The acting from all the cast is very strong. If I were to look for faults, I'd have to say that rather too much of the weight of inner conflict is settled on the shoulders of a single character - Claire Mallet. Doing this, I suppose, helps to keep the plot "tight", but at times it does make her motivations a little hard to accept. But don't worry. Just enjoy the story.
Unfortunately, as they get excited - which they do - the French gets a little difficult for some of us - and the subtitles start to flash up and dissappear very fast. So in terms of improving your French - this film is definitely not for beginners.
Must watch
sophie3090454 April 2018
Good film
play-me-a-symphony6 March 2019
Always formidable, reflective and critical...
RosanaBotafogo13 June 2022
A drama told in a light and fun way, it skidded at the end with the comic exaggeration and slapstick, it could have been taken a little more seriously, but the theme is pertinent and necessary, in France, due to the large number of immigrants, u no prejudice and xenophobia are great, and always reported in the movies, that's where my love for French cinema was born, always formidable, reflective and critical...
A very good French movie
DogeGamer201516 August 2020
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