With his tongue firmly in cheek, writer-director Maurice Barthélemy (Low Cost, 2011; Casablanca Driver, 2004) continues to do what he does best – make people laugh – in this very funny comedy that asks: do we ever really leave our exes? A remake of the Italian farce, The Exes perfectly transposes
to Paris – The City of Lovers – where the fallout from love includes innumerable broken hearts, unresolved relationships and former partners who just can’t let go. In particular, Antoine (Jean-Paul Rouve, C’est la vie!, Opening Night film of this year’s Festival) makes it a point to avoid involvement, Didier (Patrick Chesnais, The List of My Desires, AF FFF2015) wants his wife back, Laurent (Arnaud Ducret) celebrates the marriage of Julie (Stéfi Celma) through gritted teeth, Serge (the filmmaker himself, Maurice Barthélemy) is hassled by his current girlfriend’s ex, and Greg (Baptiste
Lecaplain) finds consolation with his ex’s dog. Injecting Vaudevillian elements to up the comedy ante, The Exes could be considered the opposite of Love Actually, using humour to downplay the drama and, ultimately, bring levity to a more serious message. But, don't think about it too much. This is a film for tuning out and enjoying the ride.
Tuesday 27th February
84 min
M
Film Festival
