Sea, No Sex and Sun (2012) Directed by Christophe Turpin
Comedy
Film Review
Christophe Turpin, screenwriter on Jean-Philippe (2006), JCVD (2008) and L'Amour dure trois ans (2011),
makes his directing debut with Sea,
No Sex and Sun, yet another holiday-themed comedy that struggles
to get beyond the barrel load of clichés which are served up
every year by at least one French filmmaker. It is surprising,
given that Turpin's field of expertise is screenwriting, that the
film's weakest element is its script, which is beset with both a
painfully uneven narrative (which robs the film of coherence) and
dialogue that is laughably unconvincing virtually all the way
through. To be fair, there are a few inspired touches in both the
writing and direction, but these are pretty well smothered by the
banalities that dominate the proceedings right from the off. That
the film has any charm at all is almost entirely down to the presence
of its three male leads, Arthur Mazet, Fred Testot and Antoine
Duléry, who, representing three ages of a man, engage our
sympathies and persuade us to stick with Turpin's turgid first feature
right through to the end. If nothing else, the film is a good
advertisement for the Brittany seaside resort of Carnac.
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Film Synopsis
As ever, Carnac, a small seaside resort in Brittany, is a magnet for holidaymakers
hoping to unwind and enjoy the sun during the long summer months. Twenty-year-old
Alex works here as a tennis coach in the summer, and he makes the most of
his freedom on his days off. Guillaume, in his mid-thirties,
is encumbered with a wife and daughter. By returning to Carnac, he
has hopes of rekindling memories of his happy youth. And then
there is Pierre, a spry quinquagenarian who is staying with his grown-up
children after his recent divorce. Alex, Guillaume and Pierre come
from three different generations and have very different outlooks on life,
but they have one thing in common: desires that can never be satisfied, no
matter how hard they wish it...
Cast: Fred Testot (Guillaume),
Antoine Duléry (Pierre),
Julie Ferrier (Justine),
Arthur Mazet (Alex),
Armelle Deutsch (Raphaëlle),
Anouk Grinberg (Claude),
Patrick Bouchitey (Serge),
Alma Jodorowsky (Diane),
Daphné Chollet (Camille),
Arnaud Prusak (Hugo),
Jérémy Denisty (Dimitri),
Louna Portefaix (Ariane),
Anthony Sonigo (Nico),
Esther Comar (Jeune fille bar Les Chandelles),
Robin Le Clève (Copain surfeur de Camille),
Quentin Bellamy (Copain surfeur de Camille),
Loïc Guego (Copain surfeur de Camille),
Matthieu Kassimo (Pote du lycée 1),
Simon Ferray (Pote du lycée 2),
Adrian Vinatier (Pote du lycée 3)
Country: France
Language: French
Support: Color
Runtime: 89 min
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