"Avis de mistral" or "My summer in Provence" was written and directed by Rose Bosch, who, if at all, you may know from writing Ridley Scott's "1492: Conquest of Paradise". The start is fairly general. Two teenagers, spoiled with the newest technical achievements from their life in the city, have to go to the countryside to spent the summer with their grandma and grumpy grandpa as their mother needs some time for herself.
This film had a handful flaws. Sometimes it was cheesy, sometimes even cringeworthy. The acting was not always that good (the kids, especially the teenage boy), but it has one huge strength: Jean Reno. Even he is certainly not the most talented actor, but, in his mid60s now, he still has so much charisma to make this film work. Obviously, it is all built around him: the crying scene when his dead brother is mentioned, the drinking, the fact that the kid he beats up turns out to be a drug dealer, the unrealistically easy communication with the deaf-mute boy, the fact that the boy's mom actually did not want any more contact with her father and there are many more scenes that prove he is the heart and should of this film, maybe actually more than there should be. The start of the film was nice how the kid does not hear the constant arguing going on in the train, but other than that there is really no significance to him not being able to hear or speak.
The writing really lacked on several occasions (apart from that prize Reno's character wins at the end and how he loves it, his quirks - funny to watch and an interesting lesson on simple priorities), but Reno (and to a lesser extent the actress who played his character's wife), the music ("Sound of Silence" and the instrumental parts) and the landscapes keep this from being a failure. In the end, my recommendation if you should watch this one or stay away, all depends on how much you like Jean Reno. My favorite scene was probably him meeting all his rocker colleagues from the old days.
This film had a handful flaws. Sometimes it was cheesy, sometimes even cringeworthy. The acting was not always that good (the kids, especially the teenage boy), but it has one huge strength: Jean Reno. Even he is certainly not the most talented actor, but, in his mid60s now, he still has so much charisma to make this film work. Obviously, it is all built around him: the crying scene when his dead brother is mentioned, the drinking, the fact that the kid he beats up turns out to be a drug dealer, the unrealistically easy communication with the deaf-mute boy, the fact that the boy's mom actually did not want any more contact with her father and there are many more scenes that prove he is the heart and should of this film, maybe actually more than there should be. The start of the film was nice how the kid does not hear the constant arguing going on in the train, but other than that there is really no significance to him not being able to hear or speak.
The writing really lacked on several occasions (apart from that prize Reno's character wins at the end and how he loves it, his quirks - funny to watch and an interesting lesson on simple priorities), but Reno (and to a lesser extent the actress who played his character's wife), the music ("Sound of Silence" and the instrumental parts) and the landscapes keep this from being a failure. In the end, my recommendation if you should watch this one or stay away, all depends on how much you like Jean Reno. My favorite scene was probably him meeting all his rocker colleagues from the old days.