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XXL
1997 Comedy / Drama
Review
Although the concept behind XXL is a worthy one – to offer a down-to-Earth
portrait of Jewish life in cosmopolitan France – its realisation leaves a great
deal to be desired. Cliché-ridden, poorly paced and almost totally lacking
in credible characterisation, the film is burdened with an all-star cast, for which there
is no justification other than to try to make the film appeal to as wide an audience as
possible. After 30 minutes of tedium, the film picks up a little, and we do get
a few moments of decent comedy, but by this stage you’ve just lost interest in the
narrative. Far from helping us to understand Jewish culture, the film merely alienates
its audience and reinforces typical Western prejudices against Jews. If the film
were not so boring and amateurish, it might be misconstrued as dangerously offensive.
Fortunately, the film was so badly distributed when it was released that is passed virtually
without notice.
© James Travers 2003 Write a review for this film...User Comments
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Director:
Ariel Zeitoun
Starring: Michel Boujenah, Gérard Depardieu, Elsa Zylberstein, Catherine Jacob, Gina Lollobrigida Synopsis
Alain Berrebi runs a fashion store in Paris’ Jewish district. He has big ideas
for his business, but these are constantly thwarted by a neighbouring Chinese shop.
He intends to marry Arlette Stern, whose father has just learned that the French peasant
who saved him from the Nazis during the war has just died. At the funeral, Berrebi
meets the son of the dead man, Jean Bourdalou, manager of a chain of restaurants.
Berrebi and Bourdalou immediately fall out when the latter starts to have an affair with
Arlette…
Credits
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© filmsdefrance.com 2009