''Just Like Brothers'' (original title: ''Comme des frères'') is a 2012 French

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

written, directed and produced by

Hugo Gélin Hugo Gélin (born 4 May 1980) is a French film director, producer and screenwriter.Vincent JuléHugo Gélin, l’humour en héritage ''Le Parisien'', 30.10.2012 Life and career Hugo Gélin was born to Xavier Gélin on May 4, 1980. His grandparen ...

Plot

Since Charlie (

Melanie Thierry Melanie is a feminine given name derived from the Greek μελανία (melania), "blackness" and that from μέλας (melas), meaning "dark".François-Xavier Demaison), a businessman, Elie (

Nicolas Duvauchelle Nicolas Duvauchelle (born 27 March 1980) is a French actor, perhaps best known for his role as Theo in three seasons of the crime drama ''Braquo''. Career Duvauchelle starred in numerous films including ''Lightweight'', '' À tout de suite'' ...

), a renowned scriptwriter, and Maxime (

Pierre Niney Pierre Niney (; born 13 March 1989) is a French actor. He made his acting debut in the two-part television miniseries ''La dame d'Izieu'' in 2007, followed by films such as ''LOL (Laughing Out Loud)'', ''The Army of Crime'', ''Romantics Anonymous ...

), a naive 20-year-old boy, lost the woman of their lives. These characters with opposite personalities find themselves involved in a 900-km long journey to the cherished house of their sister, their friend, their love.

Cast

* François-Xavier Demaison as Boris *

as Élie *

as Maxime *

Mélanie Thierry Mélanie Thierry is a French actress. Early life and career Mélanie Thierry began her career as a model in France, then moved into acting. She began with a series of roles in French productions, and at the age of 17 appeared in the internationa ...

as Charlie *

Lannick Gautry Lannick Gautry (born 3 March 1976) is a French actor. Theater Filmography External links * 1976 births Living people People from Saint-Germain-en-Laye French male film actors French male stage actors French male television ac ...

as Vassily *

Philippe Laudenbach Philippe Laudenbach (born 31 January 1936) is a French actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films since 1963. Career Nephew of Pierre Fresnay (born Peter Laudenbach), Philippe is formed to the French National Academy of Dramatic Arts. He ...

as Grandfather *

Florence Thomassin Florence Thomassin (born 24 June 1966) is a French actress and sculptor. In 2001, Thomassin was nominated for a César Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role of Beatrice in Bernard Rapp's ''A Question of Taste ''A Question of Taste'' ...

as Line

Production

At the end of the 2000s, Hugo Gelin planned to make a film but shortly before the shooting started, a distributor withdrew from the project. He then created a production company named Zazi films and started to prepare three movies, including ''Comme des frères''. The story is partly inspired by the friendship between the 30-year-old film director and two of his friends, who are 20 and 40 years old. According to Hugo Gelin, this kind of "unusual friendship" is rarely adapted to the screen. Jocelyn-Quivrin-Notre-univers

''Comme des frères'' is dedicated to

Jocelyn Quivrin Jocelyn Quivrin (14 February 1979 – 15 November 2009) was a French actor. He had a supporting role in the film ''Syriana''. Early life Jocelyn Quivrin was born in Dijon on 14 February 1979. His father, Vincent Beaufils, was an anaesthetis ...

, one of Hugo Gelin's best friends, who died while the film was being written. After this event, Hugo Gelin decided to make this film a comedy. The amusement park scene was shot in September 2011 in Nigloland in the French departement of

Aube Aube () is a French department in the Grand Est region of north-eastern France. As with sixty departments in France, this department is named after a river: the Aube. With 310,242 inhabitants (2019),Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...

, in

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...

, in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

or even in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Music

The original soundtrack of the film is almost exclusively composed of songs from the band ''

Revolver A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six roun ...

'', written or re-recorded for the film. Three of the twenty-four tracks don't belong to the French band: ''Shame Shame Shame'' by The Khaliq Group, ''The Days We Won’t Spend'' by Thomas Darmon and ''Nothing From Nothing'' by

Billy Preston William Everett Preston (September 2, 1946 – June 6, 2006) was an American keyboardist, singer and songwriter whose work encompassed R&B, rock, soul, funk, and gospel. Preston was a top session keyboardist in the 1960s, during which he ba ...

. The album was released in November 2012, 12th led by the single ''Parallel Lives''.

Release

Before ''Comme des frères'' was released, the film's team promoted it between August and November 2012 in many festivals such as Lama (Corsica),

Angoulême Angoulême (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Engoulaeme''; oc, Engoleime) is a communes of France, commune, the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Charente Departments of France, department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern Franc ...

, Paris (Telerama Festival),

Colmar Colmar (, ; Alsatian: ' ; German during 1871–1918 and 1940–1945: ') is a city and commune in the Haut-Rhin department and Grand Est region of north-eastern France. The third-largest commune in Alsace (after Strasbourg and Mulhouse), it is ...

Montpellier Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...

Reunion Reunion may refer to: * Class reunion * Family reunion Reunion, Réunion, Re-union, Reunions or The Reunion may also refer to: Places * Réunion, a French overseas department and island in the Indian Ocean * Reunion, Commerce City, Colorado, U ...

, Sarlat, and also premieres with Hugo Gelin and the three main characters as special guests occurred throughout France.

Critical response

The film received positive reviews from the written press. For Jean-Pierre Lacomme from ''

Le Journal du Dimanche ''Le Journal du dimanche'' (English: ''Sunday's newspaper'') is a French weekly newspaper published on Sundays in France. History and profile ''Le Journal du Dimanche'' was created by Pierre Lazareff in 1948. He was managing editor of ''France ...

'', this is a "beautiful road-movie". According to ''

Paris Match ''Paris Match'' () is a French-language weekly news magazine. It covers major national and international news along with celebrity lifestyle features. History and profile A sports news magazine, ''Match l'intran'' (a play on ''L'Intransigeant' ...

'', "the juvenile energy and the sincerity f the movieshould involve even the more sceptical viewer". In ''

Elle ''Elle'' (stylized ''ELLE'') is a worldwide women's magazine of French origin that offers a mix of fashion and beauty content, together with culture, society and lifestyle. The title means "she" or "her" in French. ''Elle'' is considered the w ...

'', Khadija Moussou talks about the "cinematographic surprise of the season." The press particularly praised the actors. According to Jean-Pierre Lacomme, the "three comedians work well together". Paris Match talks about a "quartet of four comedians in a dainty harmony". For Khadija Moussou, "thanks to the clever and successful dialogues, these three are doing brilliantly". For Vincent Julé from the ''

Parisien Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

'', "the alchemy between the three comedians is undeniable". He grants a special mention for Nicolas Duvauchelle, "incredibly natural". Others proved to be more touched by the "tormented Melanie Thierry", "radiant" in the eye of Jean-Philippe Guerand from ''

Nouvel Obs (), previously known as (1964–2014), is a weekly French news magazine. Based in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris, it is the most prominent French general information magazine in terms of audience and circulation. Its current editor is Cécil ...

''. For him, François Xavier Demaison has hardly ever been "so sober and touching". For Guillemette Odicio from ''

Télérama ''Télérama'' is a weekly French cultural and television magazine published in Paris, France. The name is a contraction of its earlier title: ''Télévision-Radio-Cinéma''. Fabienne Pascaud is currently managing editor. Ludovic Desautez is dep ...

'', the actor is "still as effective". Most of the critics pay tribute to Pierre Niney's performance, even amounting to talk about a "real discovery" or a "revelation".

Accolades

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Just Like Brothers 2012 films 2012 comedy films 2010s French-language films French comedy films 2012 directorial debut films Films directed by Hugo Gélin 2010s French films