Film Reviews by JS

Have to agree with most other reviewers that Happy End is a potentially good story spoilt by self indulgent directing.

Had to stop film after 30 mins and look it up on Wikipedia to find out what was happening. Like so many modern French films we have the entrails of family life dissected a storyline nothing like the French we know.

PS if you watch the extras you can see Isabelle Huppert smile at least twice.

Couldn't believe I'd watched the same film as the other reviews when I read them later.

Yes it was light but with moments of depth that one only gets in French films. Made me laugh at times and the editing was amazing as we were switched seamlessly between the 3 scenarios

The problem with film is that it is supposed to transport one beyond the stereotype and engage with the story.

Here, the nuances were often lost in the subtitles.

WHITE ON WHITE SUBTITLES DON'T WORK!! IS ANYONE LISTENING?

The first half floundered without firming up the character relationship.

The second half was much better and the director delivered the expected patriachy, a little bit of the inter-communal tensions but do liberated Palestinian "girls" really behave so outlandishly even in a cosmopolitan city like Tel Aviv?

I had been waiting for this film for a while as I searched for something that related to what was termed "the war in yugoslavia".

A really complex film to watch with 4 time periods used in rapid flash back/forward in the early stages making it difficult to relate eg boy to man.

At times played out as a comedy or was it irony?

Unbalanced perhaps in that the Serbs seemed to dominate the actors and perhaps because of that we never really get under the skin of WHY?

I never read reviews before ordering as so many reviewers feel the needto use all the available characters to summarise the plot and include the spoilers.

Had to refer to these however as we could only last for half an hour of this wooden acting and the lack of subtitles. I agree with BE (above) somehow young American actresses are murdering the English language. Perhaps it is our age.

However, I found a spoiler on the internet and disvovered what had happened to the mother. Trite solution I'm sure we have seen before.

A trivial film, poorly produced and only worthy of a wet afternoon's watching on TV when the alternative is snooker.

No, not really.

Yes, it's a bit slow (after all it is a French film) but the attention was held for the full 90 minutes.

A bit predictable inevitably but with a bit of a twist making it thoroughly enjoyable.

I had searched the Vide Greniers of Normandie for two years looking for this film with English subtitles prior to moving to Cinema Paradiso.

The film was largely as expected and we passed a pkeasant hour and a half watching it (without need of a tissue).

I don't know if the other reviewers watched the "bonus" of making of the film? Here we had another hour watching the joy of the children who took part .

Glad I made it at last and if I ever find the film with subtitles will happily hand over my 1 or 2 €uros.

French comedic films rarely raise more than an occasional smile with us which may say more about us than the French. Daniel Auteuil has a generally excellent filmography (horrible word) but attempts at comedy usually fall a little flat and this film is no exception.

Film has to entertain and therefore incredulous story lines are part and parcel of cinema. Apres Vous has these in abundance as well as a predictable love story.

Slow, tedious and, excuses to Tilda Swinton's character's thoat condition, excess of mumbling and whispering.