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| Plot Synopsis It's Summer Rental meets Blame it on Rio when a French family heads off to the Mediterranean for a sultry summer vacation in the ensemble sex comedy C�te d'Azur, co-directed by Jacques Martineau and Olivier Ducastel (The Adventures of Felix). When the head of the clan, Marc (Gilbert Melki), decides to tote his wife, B�atrix (Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi), and his teenage children Laura (Sabrina Seyvecou) and Charly (Romain Torres) off to his childhood beach home on the Riviera, a number of sexy liasons ensue. Charly - though straight - must contend with the come-ons of his best friend, Martin, a closeted homosexual infatuated with him for years but too shy to say so. Meanwhile, as Laura takes up with a young biker, B�atrix re-encounters her old boyfriend Mathieu (Jacques Bonnaff�); Marc's ex-flame pops up, too, both former lovers expressing interest in rekindling affairs. Soon, the entire vacation becomes a surfeit of hilarious erotic complications. Reviews John Anderson September 9, 2005 A psycho-sexual schematic of "Cote d'Azur" would probably resemble a pot of bouillabaisse, which isn't entirely inappropriate - there haven't been as many erotic allusions to shellfish since "Spartacus" ("snails ... or oysters?"). A collaboration of writer-directors Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau, this erotic comedy won't do anything to dispel Middle America's image of the French as licentious libertines. But it has its underlying ethos: As one character says, innocently enough, "Let nature have its way." It certainly does - and did, in the creation of Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi, who isn't very well known in the United States but should be. Whatever other attributes she brings to the screen, she is a wonderfully candid actress, capable of bringing a genuine mix of the motherly/erotic to this madcap romp, really less about sex, per se, than identity. Ensconced at the family place on the Mediterranean and bracing for relaxation, Beatrix (Bruni-Tedeschi) decides, with some evidence, that her son Charly (Romain Torres), and his friend Martin (Edouard Collin) are gay. Her reaction is not one of distress, but relief: Everything about the cherubic Charly suddenly, to her, makes sense. That she's totally wrong doesn't alter the temperature of Bruni-Tedeschi's warmth, her magnetism or her almost lithium-induced patience with the a-tilt members of her family, including husband Marc (Gilbert Melki), who is clueless about everything, including his wife's affair with a man (Jacques Bonnaffe) who has followed them to Cote d'Azur and is usually waiting in the bushes. What's nice about "Cote d'Azur" - besides the musical numbers that are completely insane - is that something or someone is always jumping out of the bushes, and the film has such a patient understanding of who and what that might be. Kent Turner Film-Forward.com September 9, 2005 In this light and amiable comedy, a French family's holiday on the Riveria makes a share in the Hamptons - or more appropriately, Fire Island - look staid and frigid in comparison. Marc (Gilbert Melki) returns for the first time in decades to a chateau, which he has inherited. It features an amazing view but limited hot water (everyone in the house needs a cold shower). His shaggy-haired 15-year-old son Charly (Romain Torres) takes the most showers; his parents have more than an idea of what he's up to while the hot water runs out. Since his sister has gone off on a sexcapade in Portugal, Charly invites his good-looking friend Martin to join his family. After seeing the boys together, his mother B�atrix (Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi) mentions to Marc that the two boys must be boyfriends (but it's not just Charly who might have a secret). Of course, she's cheerfully tolerant; she's half-Dutch. So much so that according to her, teenagers are conventional. They may be, but she's not; hormones run wild, regardless of age. The parents fumble and are as impulsive as any adolescent. And like Me and You and Everyone We Know, teenage sexuality is straightforwardly and objectively portrayed. The third act escalates into a door-slamming farce with secret rendezvous and a predictable coincidence. Unlike some other French comedies, 8 Women or the recent Isabelle Huppert vehicle Me and My Sister, Cote D'Azur never loses its balance by becoming meanspirited, even as B�atrix's live-and-let attitude is put to the test. With the assist of a French pop soundtrack and the closing, campy musical number featuring the entire ensemble, the film remains light on its feet. Its joie de vivre and laissez faire attitude make this an unmistakably French twist on family values. |
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| Mariscos Beach 2005 - France - 94 min. - Feature - Color AKA - Crustac�s et Coquillages (Original Foreign title), Mariscos Beach (Eng. Translation title) Director - Olivier Ducastel, Jacques Martineau |
| Genre / Type - Comedy, Farce, Sex Comedy Flags - Nudity, Sexual Situations, Drug Content, Adult Humor, Adult Situations, Profanity Keywords - beach-house, old-flame, family-vacation Themes - Extramarital Affairs, Romantic Betrayal, Family Vacations, Questioning Sexuality, Parenthood Tones - Light,.Easygoing, Racy, Whimsical, Bright Produced by - Agat Films / Bac Films / Canal Plus / Cie / Cine-Cinema / Cofimage 16 / La R�gion Provence-Alpes-C�te D'Azur Release - Sep 8, 2005 (USA - Limited) Released by - Strand Releasing Video Distributor - Ventura Distribution Cast Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi -- Beatrice Gilbert Melki -- Marc Jean-Marc Barr -- Didier Jacques Bonnaff� -- Mathieu Edouard Collin -- Martin Romain Torres -- Charly Sabrina Seyvecou -- Laura Yannich Baudin -- Micha�l, le motard Julien Weber -- Sylvain Marion Roux -- La joueuse de billard S�bastien Cormier -- Le nouveau copain de Laura |
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