The Secret of the Grain Reviews

Event though I left France almost 10 years ago, I still try to watch a French movie once in a while especially the ones who have won the César (French Oscars) for the best movie. First of all, who’s this guy, Abdellatif Kechiche ? He came out of nowhere and won back to back twice the César for the best French film. This movie was his second win but, honestly, even though I liked it, I can’t say it really blew me away. First of all, I found it rather weird that the main character suddenly completely out-of-the-blue decides to built a restaurant. Not only it sounded like a daft plan (he was more than 60 years old and without funds) but there was no transition with what happened before at all. Still, he managed somehow to built his restaurant (with what money?). Eventually, what really bothered me was the 3rd act. Basically, the whole third act was a very long (30-45 mins) and agonizing ending. Indeed, the main character decides to throw a party at his new restaurant inviting the local authorities in order to get all the authorizations and funds to launch his restaurant. However, just when the main dish (couscous) is meant to be served, one of his son takes off with the car. Of course, it was pretty obvious that there was still a main ingredient in the car… So, for the rest of the movie, you see the family working in the restaurant and the customers getting more and more restless which was just really mean in my opinion. But it doesn’t stop there… Indeed, the main character also takes off on his bike to find his missing son or the missing ingredient or whatever. However, during his trip, his bike is stolen by some little punks and, until the very end, you see the poor old fellow running after them. And, at the very end, you see him lying on the floor in the street, probably meeting his death… In my opinion, this 3rd pact was just really mean spirited, nasty and rather unnecessary. Still, I really liked this movie. Indeed, the directing which was reminiscent of Ken Loach or the Dardennes brothers, was really nice and felt like a documentary. The acting was also excellent, probably done by some unprofessional. I really wonder if the dialogues were scripted or improvised because they felt so natural. It is a rather long feature but I really enjoyed how they took their time to develop the conversations instead of rushing them. To conclude, even though I don’t think it was really great, there were definitely some glimpses of greatness in it and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in French movies.

Just as I thought French Culture was on the slide along comes this film to prove me wrong. France have found their Ken Loach with this socially charged slice of kitchen-sink.

French-Tunisian director Abdellatif Kechiche owes no apologies for the 150 minute running time. The interaction between the characters and the complexity of the relationships within the family unit make 'La Graine et le mulet' a truly immersive cinematic experience.