Welcome to the Sticks
2008 · Directed by Dany Boon
Original language: French
- comedy
- drama
- romance
The story
Although living a comfortable life in Salon-de-Provence, a charming town in the South of France, Julie has been feeling depressed for a while. To please her, Philippe Abrams, a post office administrator, her husband, tries to obtain a transfer to a seaside town, on the French Riviera, at any cost. The trouble is that he is caught red-handed while trying to scam an inspector. Philippe is immediately banished to the distant unheard of town of Bergues, in the Far North of France...
What it’s like
Bright, sun-washed Provence gives way to flat, grey northern skies in this comedy, where the palette shifts from warm ochre and lavender to rain-slick cobblestones, pale brick and cold fog over the canals. Handheld, comfortably busy camera work keeps things close to its characters, and the score is bouncy and light, with accordion-tinged folk and easy pop underlining the gags. The vibe is warm, teasing and good-natured, the kind of gentle culture-clash humour that suits a lazy weekend afternoon, a comfort rewatch, or a night in with a bowl of something hot. Pacing is brisk and sitcom-like, with broad physical comedy and running jokes about regional accents, food and local pride. The emotional arc follows a sulky, self-centred man who slowly learns to see the people around him, and a small town that gradually wins him over. Intensity is very low: no violence, no gore, and only mild innuendo and a few awkward romantic moments. It is for people who want a feel-good, low-stakes laugh and a sunny-hearted story of fish-out-of-water adjustment.
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