[critical] THE BOYS AND GUILLAUME AT the TABLE !

When, what stage, does one decide that a man is a homosexual ? When do we know that it is (or is not) homosexual ? These are two of the questions posed by THE BOYS AND GUILLAUME AT the TABLE !. The first of Guillaume Gallienne, the actor from the Comédie-française (no less), the film is a comedy apart, both light and deep. In short, it is a nugget. Adapted from his one-man show, Guillaume Gallienne book here one of the best films of the year. Explanations.

Fascinated by her mother, Wilhelm grew up in the idea that, for the sake of it, it must be a girl. Or at least, it should behave as such. That is the starting point of the film. From there, the actor-director tells the story of a childhood that he spent in imitating their mother and reproduce its every action. His arguments with his brothers (the famous “boys” of the title), to the incomprehension of his father, through his initial emotions of love, nothing is left out. And this, for our greatest happiness.

First peculiarity of the film, he alternates between plans showing Guillaume on stage, and others illustrating the story of his childhood. Thanks to a voice-over counterpoint, Guillaume Gallienne makes us travel with him and relive the moments of his life that made him what he is today. In addition, in interpreting its own role and that of his mother, the comedian performs here a tour-de-force major : be two people, two characters, make them look the same and differentiate, without ever losing us throughout the 86 minutes that make up this feature length film. Because that’s all there is to the issue of this play : to show the wishes of a child who is thinking learn about being confused with his mother. This last character he idealizes, that he idolized, that he puts from the beginning on a pedestal (” She’s a great mother. In fact, I believe that it has no default ! “), which obsesses him and that makes the film so funny. Because it should well be recognized that the scenes in which Guillaume Gallienne replicates, contain the dialogue, the most moving, the most tasty and the most orgasmic.

But the movie is also for the psychology of complex of its director. Beyond its problem oedipien, THE BOYS AND GUILLAUME AT the TABLE ! discusses the quest for identity (sexual). Theme that, a few months after the debate on gay marriage remains in effect. Considered as a daughter by a mother, charismatic and misunderstood by a father accustomed to son manly, William grew up in an in-between. An in-between that he did not understand and which he does not know how to get out. Assuming that if it can’t be a girl, but he likes a boy is that he is homosexual, William embarks on the adventure a bit crazy that do it with a few leading figures of the gay community. A community that he does not understand since it could be that it is not. But through scenes that some may deem ” too cliché “, Guillaume Gallienne shows the about statements by one of his aunts : “as long as you don’t try, you can’t know. “Thread of the film, the quest for the identity of William is accompanied by a autocentrisme assumed. Guillaume Gallienne IS duplicated in a film that sings the praises of HIS mother. And then ? The rendering is so amazing and incredible that a process of identification engages automatically and in a natural way. Like when he imagines himself in a fictional character and mythical, or when he realizes the non-reciprocity of her feelings towards one of his comrades. Regardless of sexual orientation or family situation, the film is touching at one time or another.

Helped by the story of an initiatory journey unique and unifying at the same time, THE BOYS AND GUILLAUME AT the TABLE ! takes place in the prototype of the French comedy perfect : a succession of scenes more comical than the others, but that grow all in the reflection. Touching, funny and exhilarating, the first film of Guillaume Gallienne is the most beautiful love letter that a son might write to his mother, who taught him to love women. Small more : the participation of Diane Kruger sublime, the best film coming out straight.

AUTHOR’S NOTE

[rating:9/10]

The first memory I have of my mother is when I was four or five years. She calls us, my two brothers and I, to dinner by saying : “The boys and Guillaume, table !” and the last time I spoke to him on the phone, she hangs up, saying to me : “I embrace you, my dear” ; well let’s say that between these two sentences, there are some misunderstandings.

• Original title : The boys and guillaume, to the table

• Realization : Guillaume Gallienne

• Screenplay : Guillaume Gallienne

• Main actors : Guillaume Gallienne, Diane Kruger, Françoise Fabian, André Marcon, Nanou Garcia

• Country of origin : France

• Output : November 20, 2013

• Duration : 1h26

• Distributor : Gaumont Distribution

• Trailer :

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