XXL (1997) Online

Just watched this movie on the french TV5 channel. Nice change from a lot of french movies with either too much unnecessary sex scenes, or so complicated plots that you need to take a handful of aspirin to follow. This one is to cinema what easy listening is to music. A simple plot, two exciting places i.e. Le Sentier in Paris and a nice village in Auvergne, and most of all two great actors. The interaction between Depardieu and Boujenah is perfect. The Stern brothers are an interesting duet between the younger who is totally grateful to the family from Auvergne which helped them during the war and his older brother who believes that gratitude is not eternal. To conclude, I liked a lot this unpretentious film and I was pleasantly surprised these 100 minutes passed so fast.

This one looks like a multi-stars, multi-budgeted rehash of Thomas Gilou's smash hit "La vérité si je mens", playing again on the manierism of the French Jewish community from the garment district. The first half-an-hour is so cliché-ridden it turns boring, then it catches some life, but gives too little, too late. The whole scenario feels like something taken out of a Seventies comedy reject, when French cinema rode on clichés and poor production value. Poorly marketed in France (nobody knew what it exactly was about.), this one went straight to video in other countries, and it has the feel of a so-so TV movie. Yes, even now, French cinema keeps on churning this kind of old-fashioned time-waster. too bad so many good actors got caught in the lurch.