All Hands on Deck
Director: Guillaume Brac
Year Released: 2020
Rating: 2.0
Buddies Félix (Eric Nantchouang) and Chérif (Salif Cissé) hire rideshare driver Edouard (Édouard Sulpice) to take them to the south of France where Félix wants to "surprise" Alma (Asma Messaoudene), a young woman he spent a memorable night with, but she's not pleased he's visiting and Edouard's vehicle needs repairs, essentially trapping them down there. The influence of Rohmer is everywhere and impossible to not mention, but somehow it seems even more frivolous than his works (or even his American counterpart of sorts, Linklater): they go cycling, Chérif becomes a babysitter, they go canyoning, they sing karaoke ... it's supposed to feel "natural" but it's all just a bit too tidy (and in one particular case, highly unlikely). Félix has strong feelings for Alma, but he also comes across as needy and controlling, but thankfully everyone else is considerably more relaxed: oneitis is a disease, and time is the healer.