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France released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: LANGUAGES: French ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), French ( Dolby Digital 5.1 ), English ( Subtitles ), WIDESCREEN (1.78:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: 2-DVD Set, Interactive Menu, Making Of, Scene Access, Short Film, Trailer(s), SYNOPSIS: Focuses on the people who live in north France, making fun of the region's unflattering stereotypes to reveal the warmth of the people. A post office manager in Provence is punished when his superiors reassign him north. When he hears that 'north' does not mean Lyons or even Paris, he despairs. Colleagues tell him of a freezing dark place where it rains all year, people live in red-brick terrace houses and dunk Maroilles cheese in their coffee. When he arrives in Bergues, his car collides with Antoine Bailleul, a postman and carillon ringer in the town belfry. He believes that Antoine has a fractured jaw, but it is just his accent. The outsider, of course, finds that the Ch'timi have hearts of gold and are friendly to strangers, unlike Parisians or southerners. SCREENED/AWARDED AT: European Film Awards, ...Welcome to the Sticks ( Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis ) ( Welcome to the Land of Shtis )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
29 of 29 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I saw this in France while staying with my cousin, who's lucky enough to live there. It's in French; my French isn't wonderful. So how come I laughed till the tears rolled? Just stick English subtitles on (which somehow have an accent) and enjoy! This is that rare thing, the French taking the mickey out of themselves. You have to bear in mind that the largest French audience is going to be Ile de France, ie near Paris, so the so-called 'southern' French characters don't speak with Midi accents, otherwise no-one would understand anybody. But the comic timing is wonderful, the editing is wonderful, and I can't understand why the film isn't more widely available outside France. Apparently there's going to be an English version, involving Will Smith. Interesting to see if it can retain the charm of the original.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
A friend asked me to go and watch this film with her - I had never heard of it but I enjoy going to the cinema (especially the Rex in Berkhamsted). This film was brilliant! It was so funny and when I tried to explain to my friends and family why it was so funny I could see that I wasn't very good at conveying what I had seen. After lots of searching I eventually found it on Amazon from an international seller. I didn't buy it at first because I thought it might not be as I wanted - French with English subtitles and working on an English Region code. I have now bought it and I watched it with friends and like me they all agreed it was a gem! I would say this is in my top 5 favorite movies.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Dany Boon's Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis/Welcome to the Sticks became France's biggest box-office hit in record time when it pulled in over $184m in France alone, although it's made barely a ripple in the English-speaking world - a shame, because this good natured culture clash comedy is a lot of fun. Kad Merad is the post office manager who gets caught pretending to be disabled to secure a transfer to the South of France only to be given the worst punishment in the post office's power: a transfer to the cold north of France, the Toxteth or Detroit of France. Once there he quickly discovers that (unlike Toxteth) it's not the backward disease-ridden inbred peasant slum of popular ridicule, but finds that comforting his imagined suffering cheers up his depressed wife back home, so ends up persuading his new friends to live down to all the horror stories when she comes to visit...
It's not the most original plot or treatment in the world, with much of the wordplay built around the local accent that adds chti to every other word straight out of Abbott and Costello's Who's On First routine, but while predictable it's still very funny more often than not. The early scenes are among the funniest, be it Michel Galabru's Dickensian (or should that be Hugoian?) horror stories of a childhood in the north to the sympathetic traffic cop who tears up a ticket when he finds out the condemned man's destination, and the end is rather abrupt, but it's a confident feelgood comedy that delivers the goods. Kudos to Michael Katims' excellent subtitle adaptation that manages to pull off the tricky alliteration, puns and wordplay that a lesser translator might decide were simply untranslatable.
The French 2-disc set offers a wealth of unsubtitled extras, from a few deleted scenes and outtakes to lengthy documentaries and a themed French episode of Who Wants to Be a Millionare, but the film itself boasts both optional English subtitles and a very good 2.35:1 widescreen transfer.
It's not the most original plot or treatment in the world, with much of the wordplay built around the local accent that adds chti to every other word straight out of Abbott and Costello's Who's On First routine, but while predictable it's still very funny more often than not. The early scenes are among the funniest, be it Michel Galabru's Dickensian (or should that be Hugoian?) horror stories of a childhood in the north to the sympathetic traffic cop who tears up a ticket when he finds out the condemned man's destination, and the end is rather abrupt, but it's a confident feelgood comedy that delivers the goods. Kudos to Michael Katims' excellent subtitle adaptation that manages to pull off the tricky alliteration, puns and wordplay that a lesser translator might decide were simply untranslatable.
The French 2-disc set offers a wealth of unsubtitled extras, from a few deleted scenes and outtakes to lengthy documentaries and a themed French episode of Who Wants to Be a Millionare, but the film itself boasts both optional English subtitles and a very good 2.35:1 widescreen transfer.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Excellent French Humour
I'm a regular visitor to France and a couple of years ago this film and made a big impact there. What I saw was the bi-product marketting of "Ch'ti" everywhere: beer, t shirts,... Read more
Published 3 months ago by John H. Everington
entertaining
Good fun for all the family. Not a classic film but not pretentious and good for a rainy Sunday afternoon. My kids enjoyed it.
Published 8 months ago by anna
Bienvenu chez les Ch'tis
A very funny film, which goes at a good pace. Unfortunately we could only see the top line of the subtitles, as always with foreign language films - nobody can tell me how to... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Painter
lovely film
This is a funny, feel good movie,which I love and so does everyone I have shown it to. It is well written and acted and altogether a joy. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Susan A. Knowles
A hoot from start to finish
I saw this at a local film society, and simply had to get a copy. While my French is pretty good, the subtitles (a clever attempt at a nigh-on impossible task!) were essential. Read more
Published 10 months ago by A. J. W. Daglish
Wonderful insight into Northern France
This film is a classic all about perceptions within France about Northern France from people in the South. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Mr. D. J. Linnell
Ealing-esque take on the French North / South divide but lost in...
I was highly recommended this film by a French friend who comes from the South of France as she said that it was really amusing and summed up her perception of the North of France. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Ian Thumwood
Ch'tis (Danny Boon)
Ch'tis is an excellent film...touching, heart-warming and very funny. Well written, produced, directed and acted. Read more
Published 15 months ago by J. Hemsley
wondrous
I love French films. This is now my all time favourite. Quite brilliant, very funny and clever too with gags that are still with me 2 years later!
Published 20 months ago by Jo Parfitt
dvd
Enjoyed this film at the cinema and DVD with its added content increased the pleasure of revisiting it. Funny tender and completely engrossing
Published 21 months ago by colin
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