The Closet/Le Placard (2001) - Clever direction and fired up stars make bouncy comedy hit

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Three good-humored stars in suits make up most of this fun-teasing poster for Francis Veber's The Closet

A boring accountant is about to get sacked, until his neighbor help him to 'become' a closeted homosexual, - naturally meaning that he then cannot get sacked!

 

The Closet is written and directed by Francis Veber (The Toy/Le Jouet (1976)). The title is a literal translation of the original French title.

It is a blend of a classical mix-up comedy and a sex comedy, which thank God already feels quite antiquated in its way of dealing with people being gay. Everyone behaves more or less hysterically when confronted with the (fake) news, and the story had definitely not gone down nicely if it wasn't for the lovely and very game cast:

Especially excellent is Daniel Auteuil (Happy End (2017)) and Gérard Depardieu (Thalasso (2019)) as the homophobic co-worker, who discovers a new side of himself. 

Although the concept in The Closet is tongue-in-cheek heightened reality, the clever direction and performances succeed in making it screwball-like and a lot of fun.

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 14.5 mil. $

Box office: 50.1 mil. $

= Box office success (returned 3.45 times its cost)

[The Closet was released 17 January (France, Belgium, Switzerland) and runs 84 minutes. Shooting took place in France, including in Paris. The film opened #30 to a 180k $ first weekend in 37 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #17 and in 145 theaters, grossing 6.6 mil. $ (13.2 % of the total gross). Its biggest market was France, where it was the year's 3rd highest-grossing home title, making around 25 mil. $ from approximately 5 mil. admissions. Roger Ebert gave the film a 2.5/4 star review, translating to a notch under this one. Veber returned with Ruby & Quentin/Tais-Tou! (2003). Auteuil returned in Vajont - La Diga del Disonore (2001); Depardieu in Concorrenza Sleale (2001). The Closet is certified fresh at 85 % with a 7/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Closet?

Hidden/Caché (2005) - Haneke's slick, cold surveillance drama-thriller

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+ Best French Film of the Year + Best Mystery of the Year

Spanish poster for Michael Haneke's Hidden

QUICK REVIEW:

A married parental couple who work in the creative industry start to receive videotapes with recordings of their own house as well as ominous drawings in the mail. The man (Daniel Auteuil (Conversations With My Gardner/Dialogue Avec Mon Jardinier (2007)) believes that they may come from a brother, he once never had ...

Caché is a drama thriller written and directed by Austrian film master Michael Haneke (The White Ribbon/Das Weiße Band - Eine Deutsche Kindergeschichte (2009)).
My sympathy for the leading couple in this film reaches a limit at some point, because they are so awfully 'intellectual', pathetic and ridiculous. The film is told in a starkly realistic style without a score even, and the many emotions going through the main characters are quite palpable, and work to heighten the tension. The film also has SPOILER one of the most shocking suicide scenes that has ever been put on film.
The couple, who is the core of Caché, are pretty much lost throughout the film, and thus Caché itself also gets to feel somewhat lost in my eyes.
Still, it is a smart and sleek European co-production, if not among Haneke's best.
At the moment, he is in preproduction with a film that is set to come out next year with the title Flashmob.

Related posts:

Michael Haneke: Amour (2012) - Tender love, unseizing death in Haneke's pictures

2005 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 

Watch the trailer with English subtitles here

Cost: 10.5 mil. $
Box office: 16.1 mil. $
= Flop
[Caché was most successful in Europe, which is common for Haneke's mostly very European films, here about French intellectuals. It has won a slew of awards; chief among them, 3 at Cannes, including Best Director. It did make 3.6 mil. $ in the US, which isn't bad for a thriller as minimalistic as Caché, but with its relatively high cost, it didn't sell enough to start turning profits.]

What do you think of Caché?
If you think it is a masterpiece, please, tell us why