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Marcel (De Funes) and Francis (Biraud) are busy people. Marcel owns a café and spend all his nights running from meetings to meetings with members from the high society... at least, that's what he say to his barman! Francis leaves his home, loving wife and adorable daughter, frequently to attend meetings and demonstration with customers. His boss trusts him so much that his agenda is always full... at least, that's what he say to his wife! In fact, Marcel and Francis' incomes come from their night job: thieves! Here at least, they are professional. Troubles arise when, during one robbery, they encounter a young, high-pitched voice, candid girl who takes the decision to become their associate in crime... for the fun! From this point, the movie becomes a series of twists and turns, where characters meet and meet again, where associations are dissociated to be reformed later. This movie is not a Hollywood blockbuster but it is fun to watch. De Funes was not at the peak of his fame at that time and his playing was consequently not too exacerbated (as he did in his later movies). The play of Maurice Biraud is of great quality and several famous guest stars (Maurice Pieplu or Jean Lefevre) contribute to make this movie an entertaining act. A good standard for French cinema lovers, a little pearl for the De Funes lovers (who have only seen his blockbuster movies).

OK, OK, this got old! The decorum is typically psychedelic-oriented, plastic, neo-modernism. The themes are 'slightly' out-of-date (although if one gives them a good deal of thinking, they are still pretty much of actuality), the dialogs are less than extraordinary BUT this is one of the movie I'd brought with me on a desert island and would look again and again with the same pleasure. I saw it as a kid, then as a teenager, then as an adult and could still keep my eyes fixed on the screen from beginning to the end. Maybe, I'm biased since I'm a SciFi lover and I always had a crush for this period and style (THX1138, 1984, Brazil, Soylent green, etc.) but if you like a bit anticipation stories and want to spend an hour and half relaxing in front of a good ol'movie, then this one's for you.

In the world of the animation business there is a recent trends towards super- realism where computer graphics are being increasingly used. Although I appreciate animations like Finding Nemo or the Incredibles for they represent a renewal of the genre (in the same way the Disney movie did in the 50's), the artistic style of La Planete Sauvage is unmistakable and accords perfectly with the dark atmosphere of the movie. This animation is based on the book Oms (a deformation of the french word homme, man) from the French SciFi writer Stephan Wul who should also be credited for being the writer of The Time Masters (another SciFi animation worth your time). Wul's real name is still a mystery. The rare things we know about his life are that he wrote his 10 (or so) only books when he was studying dentistry at the University. He apparently graduated and became too busy to continue his writing activity. What a pity. I've read most of Wul's book and they are all unique and beautiful. The animation sticks true to Wul's vision. The art by the Czech master Topor is dark and oppressing, despite the bright color of the 60-70's-influenced graphism, adding to the uncomfort of seeing human beings treated as pets or pests by giant extraterrestrials. However, the roles are interchangeable and humans do behave too often in the way the extraterrestrials do in the movie with other living creatures on Earth. Hard to find but worth the search.

The movie could have been perfect, full of good feelings and good will, packed up with action, drama, suspense... Unfortunately the parallel with Top Gun is so obvious that you can't help but making comparisons with Cruise's first blockbuster. Read for yourself: A young bright and talented man (Tom Cruise) wishing to graduate from the elite diving team of the Japanese coast guard (the US Top Gun pilots) undertake a demanding training. Forging himself throughout exercises, he befriend a young man whose good wills are not matched up by his physical condition (a sort of "Goose"). Helping him out, during the training he enters in conflict with another talented but unfriendly trainee (a typical "Iceman"). Until the death of the Japanese "Goose" (yes, in this movie too the poor, gentle but unadapted friend of the hero dies ), the hero will oscillate between resignation and pursuing his quest... You've already guess that he will finally make it through the training, partly thanks to the unraveling of the past history of his supervising officer, he will save the team, become friend with the Iceman... well, nothing new and exciting in other words! There are so many good movies coming out in Japan that I would not recommend people to loose time and money going to see it on the big screen... especially since, following again the Hollywood way of doing, they've made a TV series out of the movie. Actually, it never was more than a TV series to my opinion.

Certainly not one of the best movie of de Funes. This black and white vaudeville, typical of the post-war period in France, should please the aficionados of Louis, discourage those willing to learn more about him and comfort in their opinion those who hate him. None-the-less, the film present an interesting gallery of characters and occasionally bring a smile on your face.

Another addition to the pantheon of great romantic comedies... Jean-Pierre Jeunet, once again, masters in bringing to life and sharing with us one of his surrealistic world. After Alien4, the city of the lost child or Delicatessen, one may be confused with the almost 'realistic' atmosphere of Amelie.. but don't be mistaken: the neighbours of Amelie, although human-like looking, are closer to fantasy characters than real human. Amelie should be watched as a complicated, entertaining, artistically designed jigsaw which integrity can only be fully perceived at the end of the movie. Actors are fantastic... All of them play their role with conviction and add their personal touch to Amelie's world. Dominique Pinon is truly exasperating as a maniac-jealous guy, Matthieu Kassovitz proves that besides his directing skills he can also be a wonderful actor, the destiny of Audrey Tautou will surely be as fabulous as Amelie's one... Bravo et merci.