Bon Voyage

Released: June 3 2004
Cast: Gérard Depardieu, Isabelle Adjani, Peter Coyote, Virginie Ledoyen, Grégori Derangère
Director: Paul Rappeneau
Genre: Comedy/Mystery/Adventure
Rated: M15+ low level violence
Running Time: 115 Minutes

Synopsis:
A sophisticated, stylish French farce set in and around Bordeaux in 1940 on the eve of the German occupation of Paris from Academy Award© - nominated director Jean-Paul Rappeneau ('Cyrano de Bergerac', 'Horseman on the Roof').Movie stars, spies, government ministers and jailbirds collide in a panoramic gridlock when the advancing German army threatens Paris and the city's upper crust flees en masse to the Hotel Splendide in Bordeaux. A stunning film actress (Isabelle Adjani), a politician (Gérard Depardieu), a suspicious journalist (Peter Coyote), a pretty physics student (Virginie Ledoyen) and a young writer falsely accused of murder (Grégori Derangère) are all thrown together by crisis.Murderous intrigues, scientific secrets and love affairs flourish in this romantic comedy-mystery-adventure, which owes more than a nod to idealist WWII-era romance classics like 'Casablanca'.

My Verdict:
'Bon Voyage' is a fast-paced farce that is a rare treat today, especially as it is set in 1940. The attention to detail is good and lavish at times, with French streets totally made over to re-create a by-gone era. The mysterious death of a man in the movie star Viviane Denvert's (Isabelle Adjani) apartment, begins the sequence of events of the film. In desperation, she phones a friend to help dispose of the body, a past lover, Frédéric. While fleeing with the body in a car, he has an accident whereby the body is discovered and he ends up in jail on a murder charge. And so the fun begins.

Nobody is above suspicion as they all have hidden agendas and their paths cross time and time again, which sometimes stretched the coincidence stakes, but perhaps it is the circles they are travelling in. Gérard Depardieu plays a rather naïve politician Jean-Etienne Beaufort, who is having an affair with the gorgeous Viviane Denvert, oblivious to her history, or perhaps he's in denial. Viviane is the main focus of the movie and most of the action revolves around her and her acquaintances. It is amazing how much trouble she manages to stir, and how she manipulates the men she knows.

The settings are lovely and the film is a welcome departure from modern-day farces. The film is in French with English subtitles but this is hardly noticeable. 'Bon Voyage' is a fun trip back in French time whilst not at all taxing it is best described as light entertainment.

Rating : B-

Christina Bruce