Les Rois mages
2001 Comedy / Fantasy
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Credits
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Summary
The Three Wise Men – Balthazar, Melchior and Gaspard – are on their way to Bethlehem to
pay homage to the infant Jesus when they are suddenly, an inexplicably, transported two
thousand years into the future. They find themselves walking the streets of Paris,
where they encounter a young woman called Macha who, they are convinced, will lead them
to the newborn Messiah. Along the way, Melchior has befriended Jo, a delinquent
drugs pusher, whilst Balthazar and Gaspard become acquainted with hamburgers and street
gambling. Malcha has enough problems of her own, but cannot get rid of the three
strange men, who obviously look like they have just escaped from a lunatic asylum.
Her mother’s employer, Hoeder, see things differently. He heads a multi-media empire
and sees the huge marketing potential the Three Wise Men offer him…
Review
Les Inconnus – the very popular ‘90s comedy trio comprising Didier Bourdon, Bernard Campan,
Pascal Légitimus – are reunited here for the first time since 1995, when they starred
in the box office hit Les
Trois frères. Although Les Rois
mages has some great comedy, it is spread pretty thinly in comparison to Les Inconnu’s
earlier film, and overall it is a great let down. It’s hard to get away from the
fact that the story relies on a plot device – an unexplained teleportation – which feels
so lazy and hackneyed, the same trick having being employed to far greater effect in
Les Visiteurs (1993), a film which Les
Rois mages seems to closely imitate. Without such silliness as this, and
a few rather pointless O.T.T. special effects, this film could have had much greater appeal.
The three lead actors work together well and their inoffensive brand of comedy is very
engaging, but their efforts are largely wasted in this horribly contrived and overly self-conscious
film.
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