Liberté-Oléron

Jacques Monot and his family of six go to their secondary home on the island of Oléron for the summer holidays. While his wife Albertine lounges under a parasol and the children absorb themselves in various holiday pursuits, Jacques soon becomes easily bored by the beach games. In a spontaneous moment, he opts to buy a sail boat and dreams of commandeering the high seas. However, with a distinct lack of experience, getting to the island just opposite would appear to be mission enough.

Following the successes of Versailles Rive-Gauche (César for best short film) and Only God Sees Me (César for best debut feature), the brothers Podalydès continue to deliver their unique brand of humour with this second full-length film.

Liberté Oléron can be viewed as a quasi-sequel to Only God Sees Me; Denis Podalydès once again plays hang-dog protagonist, but this time his character has moved on from frustrating bachelor to ailing family man.

Well written, the brothers milk the comic potential of the dysfunctional family, spearheaded by the hapless middle-aged man in crisis. In addition, they begin to show their increasing mastery of this genre, as the humour pervades in numerous ways. From witty, verbal jousting there are equal measures of physical farce as the conceit of a sail-boat with an inept captain at the helm does not skimp on its comedic potential. With his quirky frame, Denis Podalydès proffers a performance that would make the likes of Jacques Tati proud.

Bruno Podalydès’ assured direction navigates the film skilfully between mayhem and drama; it remains a family story, recounted with insight, humour and wit, in a way only these brothers are able to tell.