Dir. Mark Dindal, US, 2005, 81 mins
Cast: Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi, Gilbert Melki, Jean-Marc Barr, Jacques Bonnaffe
Review by Becky Day
Marc and his wife Beatrix go for a trip to the seaside for a relaxing break and take with them their teenage son and daughter. This quirky family all seem to have hidden secrets and whether it is the heat, the sea air or the cockles, something is bringing them to open their minds as they each begin to explore their sexuality. This French subtitled comedy drama deals with homosexuality, affairs, temptation and hot showers… with a few cabaret acts in-between.
The beginning is misleading as the credits, graphics and music together are wonderfully artsy and fun. Disappointingly the credits are about as creative as this film gets visually, as there are no captivating or inspiring shots for the whole duration of the movie. The directors have relied solely on their script to drive the film and without much action happening, it really isn’t enough. The pace doesn’t build up to a climax at any point and just seems to meander on.
The saviour of Cockles and Muscles is ‘Romain Torres’. His parents think he’s gay and he plays along in the hope that they will leave him alone. Here is a brilliant actor who really encapsulates the curiosity and fear that teens experience when begin to explore their sexuality.
Beatrix is the chilled out, sexual mother whose husband fails to meet her needs. She is a character that should look siren-like and with an air of mystery, but still maternal at the same time. She may well capture the personality of Beatrix but, unfortunately, Bruni-Tedeschi also happens to resemble a cross between Scully from X-Files and Ellen de Generes. Her husband isn’t bad looking so it is quite bewildering when Beatrix keeps sneaking away to meet her fat balding lover. The sex scenes are squeamish to say the least.
Admittedly though, there are a few laughs at the outright oddness of it all. The parents are most embarrassing; thinking their son is gay, the parents randomly bring up the subject of Aids at breakfast.
Co-director Jacques Martineau spoke of the film: ‘I think we live in a world where they try to make us believe violent confrontation is the only way to interact in society. I don’t agree with that. Our story is like a modern fairytale where everything ends up with “weddings” and songs.’
Modern fairytale may have been the goal but the story doesn’t quite delve deep enough into neither reality nor fantasy for it to entirely work. As nice as that thought might be where everything is song, dance and happy endings it’s just not that interesting.
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