Je suis un no man’s land (2010)

Directed by: Thierry Jousse | 92 minutes | comedy | Actors: Philippe Katerine, Julie Depardieu, Aurore Clément, Jackie Berroyer, Judith Chemla, Jean-Michel Portal, Christian Waldner, Jacques Fornier, Philippe Coulon, Philippe Patols, Juliette Alonzo, Victor Perrenin

It is unclear exactly what style director Thierry Jousse is looking for, but ‘Je suis une no man’s land’ misses the point. An absurd comedy or alienating variation on ‘Groundhog Day’; it is impossible to say. The fact of the film is interesting enough – old rock star ends up in his native region and can’t escape from it – but the elaboration gets bogged down in total chaos.

Philippe Katerine has far too little charisma, expressiveness and acting ability to carry the film. The screenplay is too complicated – after two writing teams have tried it, it still doesn’t score enough – but without a main character worth watching for an hour and a half, there is little left of a film anyway. There are countless other weaknesses to mention, but Katerine is an almost hopeless low. It is to be hoped that ‘Je suis une no man’s land’ will provide the final indisputable proof that singers – however popular, idiosyncratic or strange they may be – cannot act. The fact that Katerine does not even succeed in giving his character as a singer any credibility should say enough: singers are not actors. The few exceptions to this rule (Tom Waits, Frank Sinatra) only confirm him all the more.

As mentioned, Katerine is not the only downside to the film. Because the camera work of Olivier Chambron and the terrible music of Pierre Bondu and Katerine themselves are also very below par – as is the acting of a large part of the other cast – it is doubtful how Jousse could ever get people this far in his film. play and invest. His own contribution also leaves a lot to be desired. What’s left is the kind of film you hope to never see: so appallingly bad that it’s barely worth watching.