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Les Portes de la gloire
2001 Comedy / Drama
Review
Christian Merret-Palmair’s first full length film, Les Portes de la gloire is a
bizarre black comedy that offers both a tragicomic depiction of
mid-life crisis and an unusual variation on the road movie
concept, with more than a hint of social realism. It is easy to pick holes in the script and the
direction, which both show an obvious lack of finesse, but such flaws
are more than compensated for by the excellent contributions from a
talented ensemble cast. Benoît Poelvoorde is particularly memorable
as the Team Leader from Hell, managing to be hilarious one moment,
oozing pathos by the bucketload the next, and his attempts to parody
Alec Guinness in a certain David Lean film get funnier as the film
progresses. All of the characters are well-drawn and convicingly
played, especially Jérôme – sensitively portrayed by
Julien Boisselier – a man who manages to be more gauche than Paris’
Left Bank, at least until his indoctrination into the black art of
salesmanship is complete. A deliciously dark and witty comedy.
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Director:
Christian Merret-Palmair
Starring: Benoît Poelvoorde, Michel Duchaussoy, Etienne Chicot, Yvon Back, Julien Boisselier Synopsis
Régis Demanet is the leader of a team of door-to-door salesmen
who stalk the streets of northern French towns trying to coerce
undiscerning householders into buying a bogus encyclopaedia.
Forty-something Demanet is in the midst of a mid-life crisis and is
desperate to make something of his life. Seeing himself as
Colonel Nicholson in the film Bridge
on the River Kwai, he has a dream – to build an empire of
salesmen using aggressive American sales techniques in the South of
France. Unfortunately, his boss, Paul Beaumont, refuses to takes
his ideas seriously. When Jérôme Le Tallec,
Beaumont’s future son-in-law, joins his team, Régis sees an
opportunity to realise his dream...
Credits
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© filmsdefrance.com 2009