Chouquette (2017) Online

A "Chouquette" is a ball of choux pastry sprinkled with sugar" ;in the movie ,it's the nickname a grandson gives to his granny ,a boy who is not overly fond of grandma ;he repeats several times :'I wish you died ".

Given the poor imdb rating ,and the fact that both actresses are not among my favorites ,I thought twice before watching it,but as nobody had reviewed it to this day on this site ...

I expected the worst ,and I have to make amends : it's not that much bad , there is a beautiful cinematography which takes advantage of the splendid Breton landscapes ; a welcome touch of black humor ; and a grumpy sullen Sabine Azema ,who never cracks a smile ,makes it a (very minor) winner.

At the beginning of the movie , the viewer might think he chose the wrong film: pictures of outer space ,of the universe (is it a sci-fi work?),and a questioning about the end of the world (and thus human destiny);it might seem exaggerated ,the connection with the movie being thin and boiled down to this : grandad (whose nickname is Gepetto) is fond of cosmology.

This is essentially a road movie ;the first scenes take place in Chouquette's desirable mansion (with a servant );she is about to celebrate her husband's birthday and she has invited several persons,only one of whom turns up : Diane, her hubby's mistress ,("I invited you for I thought you would not show up"); as for the hubby/lover ,he is nowhere to be seen.Then begins a long drive along the roads of Brittany ,involving both women , the grandson and the mistress's mother they collect in an old people's home ;the conversations often hints at death ,which may seem unusual is this kind of work ; the scene between Chouquette and the person in charge of the holiday camp is totally silent ,which is rare nowadays.We often feel the "drag it is getting old" ;an embittered Chouquette finds it hard to drive her rival's mom ,not only because she's burdensome ,but also because she represents all that she will become in a time not so far away now..."your time is not the same as my mom's " says the brat ,who knows both women hate each other and that her grandma's rival is younger .

That said ,there's also bad taste and poor ideas : Chouquette's pet is called F........ cause the servant cannot pronounce "Phoque " ( = seal in French); plenty of American songs (with one exception by Gainsbourg) which bear no relation to the plot ,the biggest flaw of the contemporary French scene; all savor American food (made by a French cook) whereas Brittany makes the best crepes in the world ;and the most obnoxious moment : a radio announces "the death of Bob Dylan " ,a stupid hoax which was spread by twitter last year;the censorship should have cut that!