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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
49 of 52 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I first heard of this film while staying with friends in Paris. It made a huge splash over there. They were raving about it. In France it is known as "La Graine et le Mulet", a title which far better suits this timeless parable. The story is expertly crafted and deceptively simple. Like the greatest stories, this one is archetypal.
Slimane is an old, poor and patriarchal North African divorcee. He repairs boats for a living until he's fired, at which point he decides to pursue his life-long ambition of opening a couscous restaurant on a boat, the chef being his ex-wife. Assisted by his partner's precocious daughter, Slimane sets about jumping the various hurdles that lay in his path. Out of this scenario, the writer-director wrings buckets of drama.
Essentially "Couscous" is a domestic drama, but that dry description hardly seems to do it justice. Slimane is like the titular character in "The Old Man and the Sea". He faces insurmountable odds but he quietly perseveres to the bitter end. He's no angel: he's stubborn and set in his ways. But he's all the more convincingly human for it, and you can't help but care for the man. In fact all of the characters are such engaging archetypes. This is, in no small measure, helped by the fact that all of the performances are faultlessly truthful and compelling.
This is a huge achievement by the writer/director. The camera, which never draws attention to itself, watches while the drama unfolds, it seems, totally spontaneously. It appears so improvised, but it can't be, the story is so perfectly crafted.
The storytelling is incredibly understated and the tension creeps up on you effortlessly and by surprise. In fact, I may've hit upon why the description "domestic drama" doesn't do this film justice. Because domestic dramas are so often bereft of. . . drama. And by drama I mean conflict and tension. They tend to confuse drama for sentiment. But this film, whilst it takes its time and never rushes, will slowly suck you in and have you glued to the screen until the very end.
Even if you usually don't go for this kind of thing, I would strongly recommend to anyone to give this film a shot.
Slimane is an old, poor and patriarchal North African divorcee. He repairs boats for a living until he's fired, at which point he decides to pursue his life-long ambition of opening a couscous restaurant on a boat, the chef being his ex-wife. Assisted by his partner's precocious daughter, Slimane sets about jumping the various hurdles that lay in his path. Out of this scenario, the writer-director wrings buckets of drama.
Essentially "Couscous" is a domestic drama, but that dry description hardly seems to do it justice. Slimane is like the titular character in "The Old Man and the Sea". He faces insurmountable odds but he quietly perseveres to the bitter end. He's no angel: he's stubborn and set in his ways. But he's all the more convincingly human for it, and you can't help but care for the man. In fact all of the characters are such engaging archetypes. This is, in no small measure, helped by the fact that all of the performances are faultlessly truthful and compelling.
This is a huge achievement by the writer/director. The camera, which never draws attention to itself, watches while the drama unfolds, it seems, totally spontaneously. It appears so improvised, but it can't be, the story is so perfectly crafted.
The storytelling is incredibly understated and the tension creeps up on you effortlessly and by surprise. In fact, I may've hit upon why the description "domestic drama" doesn't do this film justice. Because domestic dramas are so often bereft of. . . drama. And by drama I mean conflict and tension. They tend to confuse drama for sentiment. But this film, whilst it takes its time and never rushes, will slowly suck you in and have you glued to the screen until the very end.
Even if you usually don't go for this kind of thing, I would strongly recommend to anyone to give this film a shot.
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
A detailed and at times very touching movie that takes us into the inner lives of immigrants in France. We share their hopes, their fears, their animosities as they seek to make a living in a host society that keeps them on the edge, at best patronising them ('at least they don't want to put up a mosque'). Each of the characters comes alive: Slimane, now too old to work, dogged by ill luck, but still determined to succeed in his new enterprise; the many strong and very vocal women who surround him; the young men with a roving eye; the elders of the community who pull together to help Slimane. Above all, this is a film about real people, employing a naturalistic dialogue that sounds improvised but clearly isn't - artistry of a very high order. My only complaint is that the film was a bit long, and spoilt by the rather gratuitous (and lengthy) dancing towards the end, somewhat reminiscent of a similar, but funnier, episode at Basil Fawlty's gourmet night.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
The previous reviewer who comments that the film needs editing has it right. Were it to drop 30 or 45 mins little or nothing would be lost. As it is, we have an engaging film, both funny and poignant, casting interesting and sympathetic light on France's immigrant community. All very good, but it dissipates some of the credit by somewhat over-indulgent editing, particularly of the very long domestic meal scene and also of the opening night of the floating restaurant where the viewer waits almost as long for the film to make progress as do the diners for their couscous.
But certainly worth buying and watching.
But certainly worth buying and watching.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Its overcooked
Known in French as "The Secret of the Grain" (Better title than Couscous)
About half an hour in i was saying to myself: This is why i watch foreign films; they drop me... Read more
About half an hour in i was saying to myself: This is why i watch foreign films; they drop me... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Jan Mecir
Disappointing
We bought this film based on the reviews and found it very disappointing & it was a struggle to watch it till the end.
Published 6 months ago by Mr. Trench
so moving...
One of the best films of the last decade. Very moving film about an immigrant family who try to set up a restaurant against a background of the resistance felt by many immigrants... Read more
Published 7 months ago by robin bath
Where were the editor's scissors?
A great evocation of French-Tunisian life but it's in dire need of some judicious editing. The fly-on-the-wall style and seemingly naturalistic and spontaneous dialogue are superb... Read more
Published 17 months ago by bougainville
Tunisian immigrants in France
I bought this dvd because I am married to a Tunisian and therefore particularly interested in Tunisian culture. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Mrs. Deborah Carter
Poorly conceived ending spoils what could have been a much better...
This story of a French family of North African descent living on France's south coast, is enlivened by lots of robust dialogue and some particularly strong, spirited performances... Read more
Published 24 months ago by Drum
Bleak viewing!
I am currently having private french lessons so am trying to watch as many french films as I can get my hands on!! Read more
Published on 2 Dec 2009 by Ms. J. Dunne
Disappointing
Although this film won a series of awards in Cannes, I personally found it longwinded and boring.
Published on 25 May 2009 by Joanna M. H. Dubois
A long haul, but worth it
It's a really good film, very naturalistic, with fantastic performances all around; and it allows you almost to settle into the lives of its characters. Read more
Published on 3 April 2009 by Andy Warton
La Graine et le mulet (7.5/10)
As a resident of France I was a little surprised by recent article in the Guardian by Jason Solomons about the re-birth of the French film industry in the wake of the nation's... Read more
Published on 22 Feb 2009 by Demob Happy
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