Directed by:
Pascal RabatéScreenplay:
Pascal RabatéCinematography:
Benoît ChamaillardComposer:
Alain PewznerCast:
Isabelle Carré, Sami Bouajila, Gustave Kervern, Zinedine Soualem, Daniel Prévost, Nicolas Avinée, Laura Genovino, Joël Lefrançois, Mireille Roussel (more)Plots(1)
With its unusual title in the original French ("Tar and Feathers"), this story of atonement refers to a public punishment condoned in the Middle Ages and beyond: the perpetrator was doused in tar and rolled in feathers. In the present case, the figurative culprit is Christian, a divorced man who until now has blundered between his real life as an inconsiderate loser and his desire to be an example to his adolescent daughter, and perhaps even to find a new relationship. Set in a small country town where boredom and middle-class rituals hold sway, Pascal Rabaté's ironic morality tale inventively handles the individual scenes from a perspective reminiscent of his previous Holidays by the Sea, for which he won Best Director at Karlovy Vary in 2011. Even the players' performances are subordinated to a certain theatrical stylization: Christian is played by Sami Bouajila, an actor of Tunisian origin and a favorite in France, with the similarly well-known Isabelle Carré taking the role of Christine. She becomes a bright spot in the sullen hero's life, and the director was able to take advantage of the actress's actual pregnancy during the shoot. (Karlovy Vary International Film Festival)
(more)Cast
Isabelle Carré
France
Best movies:
Marie's Story (2014)
The Horseman on the Roof (1995)
The Day of the Crows (2012)
Sami Bouajila
France
Best movies:
A Son (2019)
The Hour of the Pig (1993)
London River (2009)
Gustave Kervern
France
Best movies:
Aaltra (2004)
150 Milligrams (2016)
And If We All Lived Together (2011)
Zinedine Soualem
France
Best movies:
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007)
Hate (1995)
Roman de Gare (2007)
Daniel Prévost
France
Best movies:
The Dinner Game (1998)
Little Nicholas (2009)
Trop c'est trop (1975)
Nicolas Avinée
Best movies:
The Dancer (2016)
The Animal Kingdom (2023)
Patchwork Family (2014)
Laura Genovino
Best movies:
The Names of Love (2010)
Patchwork Family (2014)
The Dandelions (2012)
Joël Lefrançois
Best movies:
Thérèse (1986)
Patchwork Family (2014)
Nicholas on Holiday (2014)
Mireille Roussel
Best movies:
Wild Innocence (2001)
Patchwork Family (2014)
Un ami parfait (2006)
Charles Schneider
Best movies:
1, 2, 3, Freeze (1993)
Fantôme avec chauffeur (1996)
My Man (1996)
David Salles
Best movies:
Serial (Bad) Weddings (2014)
Mise à nu (2021) (TV movie)
Babysitting (2014)
Philippe Rigot
Best movies:
I Love You (1986)
Jean-Philippe (2006)
The Escape of Louis XVI (2008)
Tony Librizzi
Best movies:
Part-Time Cops (2003)
My Woman Is Leaving Me (1996)
Série noire (1984) (series)
Sophie Sam
Best movies:
No Time for Breakfast (1976)
The Cage (1975)
The Last Train (1973)
Jean-François Gallotte
France
Best movies:
My Life in Pink (1997)
24 Hours in the Life of a Woman (2002)
Michou d'Auber (2007)
Florence Maury
Best movies:
Les Dames (2010) (series)
Patchwork Family (2014)
Low Cost (2011)
Stéphanie Pillonca
Best movies:
The Big Night (2012)
Saint-Amour (2016)
Holidays by the Sea (2011)
Jean-Marie Sirgue
Best movies:
School of life (2016)
Patchwork Family (2014)
Talina Boyaci
Best movies:
Game of four (2007)
Patchwork Family (2014)
Camping paradis (2006) (series)