In the French region of Normandy, farmers and cattle breeders face economic hardship. A once prosperous village is about to crumble into oblivion. One day a very special visitor comes along : a famed American photographer who likes to stage large-scale nude scenes. Participating in the photograph would put the whole village on the map...
There's not much to say about this comedy, in the sense that it is neither very good nor very bad. It is brave enough to tackle a number of environmental themes, such as the impact on the climate of cattle breeding and meat consumption. However, I'm not sure if the movie grasps the full gravity of some of these themes, just as I'm not sure if it finds the right tone in which to address them. One of the characters, for instance, is an adolescent girl who makes a number of cogent points about animal welfare and environmental protection, but sounds so nasty and entitled that even an unusually patient saint would feel an urgent desire to throttle her. This, in other words, is not the most admirable spokeswoman for these ideas.
I've got to say that the character of the American photographer remained a riddle for me. There's nothing wrong with making photographs of nude people - but why try to badger a whole community in participating, if it's clear that many people don't like the idea ? That makes about as much sense as hijacking a school bus on the way to a parish Christmas party and forcing the children to build snowmen, whether they like it or not. Ah, well, everything for art...
For the rest this is the kind of movie that tends to invite smiles rather than laughs or chuckles. The lush, verdant scenery is enchanting and invites many a discussion about mankind's lost Edenic happiness.
There's not much to say about this comedy, in the sense that it is neither very good nor very bad. It is brave enough to tackle a number of environmental themes, such as the impact on the climate of cattle breeding and meat consumption. However, I'm not sure if the movie grasps the full gravity of some of these themes, just as I'm not sure if it finds the right tone in which to address them. One of the characters, for instance, is an adolescent girl who makes a number of cogent points about animal welfare and environmental protection, but sounds so nasty and entitled that even an unusually patient saint would feel an urgent desire to throttle her. This, in other words, is not the most admirable spokeswoman for these ideas.
I've got to say that the character of the American photographer remained a riddle for me. There's nothing wrong with making photographs of nude people - but why try to badger a whole community in participating, if it's clear that many people don't like the idea ? That makes about as much sense as hijacking a school bus on the way to a parish Christmas party and forcing the children to build snowmen, whether they like it or not. Ah, well, everything for art...
For the rest this is the kind of movie that tends to invite smiles rather than laughs or chuckles. The lush, verdant scenery is enchanting and invites many a discussion about mankind's lost Edenic happiness.