Pignon This is a wonderful film and I found the way that it deals with the issue of taste very appealing.Castella is portrayed as a 'philistine', without taste as it were. This is a bigger thing in France than here in Austrlia, and the French language equivalent of the phrase 'bad taste' which is 'de mauvais gout' is to be avoided. Although in Australia we love to laugh at Kath & Kim, and 'The Castle', which represents bad taste to us.The thing is, some people seem to act like taste is a matter of 'breeding' and education. For example you may currently line your shelves with Toby mugs, and have personalised numberplate's, but with a little (or a lot depending on how little 'breeding' you have) education you are not beyond an appreciation of the maxim "less is more".However this film shows that while Castella maybe seen as uncouth, in the way that he would prefer Pro Hart to Sidney Nolan, Robert G. Barrett to Peter Carey, these loves are his loves, and he should not also be seen as 'thick' because of them. Or perhaps the elements of pop culture (or even kitsch culture) have the same intrinsic value, as those of high culture.I personally found it a more enjoyable film because of this element to the story.

tnrcooper Agnes Jaoui directs this film which makes a strong case for tolerance-but not simply for liberals and artists and those for whom the claim for tolerance is often made, but also for those who are possibly more old-fashioned or perhaps not as progressive but who just don't realize all the artistic and cultural life in the world.This is a very clever film, well-crafted and even-handed to all. It is about an actress, Clara (played as a jaded, depressed, but ultimately optimistic person by Anne Alvaro) who is "a- woman-of-a-certain-age" and who, while professionally somewhat successful, is lonely and would like to have a child before the window on that opportunity closes. Separately, as the film begins, Castella (director and character Manie (Agnes Jaoui)'s real life husband, Jean-Pierre Bacri) is a successful businessman who is in negotiations for a possibly huge payday with some Iranian businessmen. However, he is frustrated by the routine of his life, and perhaps its predictability, not to mention his shallow, superficial wife Angelique (Christiane Millet), whose main concern in life seems to be the tastefulness of her home. She also, quite humorously, questions the judgment of numerous people whom her spoiled dog attempts to bite. She thinks that the dog is always justified in biting them and obliquely blames them for provoking her dog. This is a funny sub-plot throughout the film.Not surprisingly, Castella is brusque and abrasive, so when he meets Clara who also serves as a private English tutor, he is surprised to discover that, while she is not like most people he knows, he is interested in her and what makes her "tick". He is almost completely culturally ignorant; however when he attends a Shakespeare play a niece is in and finds Clara performing in that, he is suddenly transfixed (attracted not just to her but to the power of the arts-and perhaps he is not even consciously attracted to her at that point-he is just intrigued by the power of the arts). He begins to put extra effort into learning English and also attends her other plays, not only to impress her, but also to better himself. It's clear that he is interested in Clara and increasingly wants to broaden his horizons, particularly from his petty, small-minded wife.One can see that this is another world opening up to him that he was ignorant of but which seems to have shaken him from his cloistered world. Clara is a little-less-than-sure that she appreciates his ever increasing interest in her though. In fact she absolutely is not attracted to him, at least at first, ironically believing him too philistine and brutish. Although well-intentioned, Castella is, as stated, culturally ignorant, and his tastes seem to them too gauche by half. They mock him by maintaining during a dinner conversation that Ibsen was a light-hearted playwright and by pretending to enjoy his bland, juvenile humor while they laugh behind his back. As this happens more and more, Clara becomes more upset with these artistic friends (Wladimir Yordanoff, Xavier de Guillebon, Raphael Dufour, Anne Le Ny) for belittling a man whose interest in their work is, ironically, more serious than their attitudes towards almost everything. While Castella becomes more versed in cultural works, it's not clear that Clara's friends are any more appreciative of his company, although Weber (Xavier de Guillebon) is happy to take the large commission Castella offers him for a fresco on the front of his office. There are misunderstandings on both sides, but what is interesting about this film is that, while Hollywood could not make a film like this without mocking Castella remorselessly, in this film, one ultimately feels more sympathy for him than for the artists who are often the victims of humiliation and harassment. Also crucial to the film, and excellent in their performances, are the director herself, Agnes Jaoui as Manie, a bartender who sells a bit of weed on the side to make ends meet. She is the very definition of a free-spirit, seemingly not overly bothered by anything. She has a fling with Bruno (Alain Chabat), Castella's bodyguard during the negotiations for the Iranian contract. Bruno claims to have bedded 300 women and seems detached and uninvested in relationships. He and Mani have the same sort of attitude toward relationships, it would seem, but he is critical of her selling marijuana and ultimately their relationship proves unsalvageable. Without giving too much away, the ending of the film seems fair, based on what we know about the characters. Jaoui gives all the characters adequate screen time and controls characters' revelations well, allowing for disclosure at a good rate-not disclosing too much too quickly, allowing the characters to mature. Jaoui and Bacri are excellent. Bacri, while I don't know his work, would seem to be a very capable actor. Perhaps it is his resemblance to Peter Sellers, but I thought he would make a fabulous comic actor. He seems to have a wonderful control of playing the straight man, as people such as Leslie Nielsen and Peter Sellers have done so well. Jaoui, I also liked. Apart from the fact she is very cute =) she is the most level-headed in this film, it seems to me, never allowing much to get her too up or too down. An excellent, very insightful meditation on the human condition. Very enjoyable and yet you realize you've seen a very insightful film too. This revelation creeps up on one. I laughed harder at The Dinner Game, but this film is wise as well as being quite amusing in places.

Forbes500 Was kind of surprised how good this movie was. I can't recall exactly when I realized how much I was liking it, but it may have been during one of Castella's (the bald guy) English lessons with the actress/teacher Clara. Or maybe it was when I realized that the artists, those arbiters of taste, were really getting a good grilling. On second thought, I know when it was: when Castella cursed upon discovering the play he'd been dragged to was in verse!The rest of the cast was great too, and I know Agnès Jaoui did everything from writing and directing to co-starring, but would it be too much to ask her also to give us an unreserved smile? Just one? Nice work all the same.

vyto34 As an actress, Agnès Jaoui is a gorgeous and very appealing woman. But as a director, she falls flat. There's simply no point in this tedious bit of French life where nobody is decisive, nobody cares about much of anything, and nothing progresses anywhere. In addition, none of the other actors are appealing--indeed, apart from the bodyguards, all the others are remarkably frumpy. The bodyguards are no work of joy either, since they are both bored and boring. No "Vive la France"; it's "La France est mort" instead. Even Jaoui's performance is unsatisfying, since she plays all her in-bed scenes wearing a leotard (a French Doris Day?).