Akoibon (2005) Poster

(2005)

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3/10
Huge disappointment
onirique9 December 2006
Two guys are sailing to Villa Mektoub. Daniel is a fan of Georges Moustaki and is going to meet another female fan with whom he chatted on the Internet. Nader has to bring Charles Barnes, the Villa Mektoub's owner and former 70's superstar, to mafiosi in order to save his friend's life. These men decide to swap identities which will bring as you might guess, some difficulties.

Edouard Baer is indeed known in France so for some nonsense humor. A french nonsense humor which means that it's just a lot for words stuck together not making any sense and not being funny (most of the time, just improvisation). I really liked Baer in most films he played in so I thought that maybe his own movies would be slightly different from what he offered on TV.

But no. Akoibon (whatsthepoint in English) begins with 55 minutes of something that looks like a thriller AND like a Eric Rohmer movie. Loose pace, not really funny. And then, here comes the twist. Too bad it's this late in the movie. Anyway, Akoibon doesn't get any funnier and doesn't enter the meta-film making dimension you would find in "Les clefs de bagnole" de Laurent Baffie.

It's really strange that some people are willing to play in this kind of movies (we're talking huge actors as Jean Rochefort or Jeanne Moreau) or even producing it.

I think I fell asleep 6 or 7 times during the whole movie (and I wasn't tired), hoping for a really good idea that would make my efforts worthy. I think that sums up the whole thing.
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8/10
Very fun underground comedy
aaractingi19 May 2005
Warning: Spoilers
Typical! Edouard Baer is famous in France for his second degree and shifted humor -- his second movie is way beyond that. The overall atmosphere of the film is voluntarily odd, starting with a thriller action and quickly turning into a nonsense plot.

His first movie, La Bostella, was already totally different from the average comedy. No big jokes, no quick action, only a bunch of guys getting a hard time brainstorming with the content of their next comedy show. He is back this time with another level of weird comedy.

Edouard Baer enjoys throwing absurd lines to his spectators, and he does it in a brilliant, astonishing way. He gets our attention by introducing a valid story, involving small-time crooks, a mafia boss and a former jet-set party animal. When everyone is ready (characters, actors, spectators), he unveils his true plan - a grand party where everyone plays a spontaneous role, from the spectator to the cast and even the movie crew.

Then he slowly trashes his own movie to make it sink into delirious scenes, offering the spectator a great, never-seen-before time, filled with wide-opened eyes and tremendous laughs.
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