sesht In the vein of biting political satires like 'In the loop' and 'Veep' (both having a lot of talent in common, both in front of, and behind the camera) and maybe even yesteryear's 'Yes, Minister', this work of art, based on a popular French graphic novel (informed by this movie's curator at the viewing venue) is as entertaining as those other works are. This also has similarities to the Michael Keaton | Geena Davis starrer, 'Speechless' (which could've had more bite, to be honest).There is also a lot of insight that seems to have gone into creating some timely and topical content (and I don't just refer to the running gag with the funny acronym for 'NATO') wrt France and its role in World politics, while keeping the tropes of the genre the same - viz, wheels-within-wheels, political machinations, permanently and consistently dealing only in abstractions, heavy impact from minuscule statements (something that literally drove 'In the loop') etc.The movie also shines a light into the personal lives of a few of our leads, also (in my opinion) boldly touching on how personal recommendations from proximity to powerful people is the only way to get quite a few things done, regardless of geo. The little things, that kept running throughout unflaggingly, really did it for me - the minister's entrance always disrupting various papers all the time, his tech-savviness or lack thereof (there's a really juvie gag on board the equivalent of AFO, where in spite of the juvie nature of the whole thing, it works big-time, in eliciting more than just guffaws - that, in addn to the juvie-level awkward high-5 moment), one lead character nodding off during meetings (with the Minister being completely oblivious to it - or is he?), airport-venue car seating allocations and its impact (something I thought would go in a different direction, but did not, and while that might not have worked in a lesser flick, in this one, it seemed like the makers took the high road, and I absolutely loved it), each para/statement needing to highlight a particular attribute, the minister's dad reflecting on 'those days' at possibly the most inopportune time possible, the 'fixer's' secretary ensuring that her boss' instructions are carried out (which keeping a caring, motherly eye on him), the running gag about the highlighter (hilarious, to say the least) and much, much more.......There is one sequence, in a restaurant, which has been choreographed like an elaborate fight sequence, or a dance move, or for the local audiences, something from a daytime soap (in terms of quick cuts from various camera positions, for varying perspectives, to provide greater impact) that is, by itself, imho, the price of admission. It goes on for a bit, and is hilarious, to say the least. If French was my native language of communication, it might have had greater impact, but both the acting, staging and eventual sub-titling are so good, that we could only marvel at the feat.Thierry Lhermitte, a la Tom Hollander (In the loop), is your typical foggy minister, but seems to more brains than he;s given credit for. It also shows the Red-Blue mix of bureaucrats around this seemingly conservative politician, who all have 1 goal, seemingly the minister's agenda, and the various tools and methods they use at their disposal to realize it, or a part of it. Veteran chameleon actor Niels Arestrup, playing the Peter Capaldi 'fixer' role, make it his own by doing completely the opposite of what Capaldi became known for, and yet captures every scene he's in, without being as showy, and showing us why it is not completely necessary (love Cpaaldi's interpretation of that character though).Our 'in' is the main (not really) naïve character, played by L'Affaire SK1's Raphaël Personnaz (to be fair, this is what he did before), and the makers let this character breathe, and we always use his perspective to view the various goings-on. His being castigated, his initial disbelief, his being a 'fish outta water' - everything, not just makes us root for this lead, but also gives us the perspective needed not just to get entertained, but also be informed, and maybe even take sides.Julie Gayet, is as effective as she is attractive, and her come-ons to various colleagues, and political courtship rituals are a hoot. The bureaucrat singing bawdy songs (inspired by Gayet's character's rituals, of course), that become popular even in the lead's household, seemed to me, to be a fantastic touch on the part of the makers to liven things up more, and it's great that they kept it as a running gag almost 3-4 times.Not to be missed, and worth repeated viewings.

3xHCCH Arthur Vlaminck is a fresh graduate from a noted university is hired to be a speech writer for the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alexandre Taillard de Worms. Arthur would soon discover that his new boss is vainly self-centered and overly meticulous. Despite saying he wants a speech which is direct to the point, he has a speaking style that tends to be pretentious and rife with quotes from classic political texts. The script brings us in the thick of the daily goings-on in the French foreign ministry, as the busy bureaucrats address this and that conflict. While the superpowers, US, Germany and France, are mentioned by name, the smaller countries they have issues with are hidden under fictitious names, like Ludemistan or Ubanga. There are generous references to NATO and the UN Security Council. The elegant egoistic slave-driver Minister Taillard is very well- portrayed by Thierry Lhermitte. You will feel sorry and root for the harassed and toxic Arthur Vlamnick as played by Raphaël Personnaz as he not only deals with his difficult boss, but all the other big egos in the staff as well. Nils Arestrup provides that balancing force as he calmly plays the efficient Chief of Staff Claude Maupas.From the start, you already get that this is written as a political satire as you witness Taillard address pressing issues with his strange idiosyncrasies -- how he orders a rewrite without even reading the draft, how he makes papers fly around by merely entering the room, or how he wildly wields his neon highlighter as he goes through his readings. This pattern unfortunately tends to be repetitive and will lose steam as the film progresses.

abisio Satire as was defined in old Greek plays; was the art to just exaggerate reality and became a critic in itself. You do not need to mock it, or change. Reality is fine in itself.Quai d' Orsay (or The French Minister ) is the tale of guy who has to make the French Foreign Affairs Minister's speech.The interesting thing about the movie; is that it never loss focus on where it is going. The guy is just an accessory; the important thing is the absurdity of political events, of Ministers that are only actors and the people behind the scenes that really move everything. Acting are superb. Niels Arestrup gives an Oscar or Cesar deserving performance as the Chief of Staff; the guy that really moves the wires. Thierry Lhermitte as the egomaniac intellectual Minister is equally outstanding.Let's hope this movie gets a proper release and find a public; because i t is perhaps the best French comedy of the year.

prescottjudith Legendary film director Bertrand Tavernier has completely changed register for his latest film, moving from the 16th century court of Charles IX of his last outing, La Princesse de Montpensier, to the corridors of the French foreign ministry with Quai d'Orsay based on the cult comic strip book of the same name. The book was co-produced by Antonin Baudry (writing under the pen name, Abel Lanzac), a young diplomat who worked as a speechwriter for former French foreign minister Dominique de Villepin. It has already enjoyed a huge critical success in France and this year took the prestigious best book prize at the annual comic strip festival in Angouleme. Quai d'Orsay draws on Baudry's experience of working with Villepin and his close knit circle of advisers and friends to depict a Kafkaesque world of confusing complexity deftly brought to the screen by Tavernier. Despite a career spanning nearly forty years, this is Tavernier's first venture into pure comedy. He has produced a film running at full tilt which weaves farce, burlesque, and fantasy into a tight, funny package that casts a sharp eye over the political machine without sliding into political satire.Raphael Personnaz is Arthur Vlaminck, a recent graduate from the highly prestigious Ecole Nationale d'Administration, which produces most of France's top politicians from both sides of the political fence. Although he doesn't fit the stereotype of a young diplomat with his shabby clothes and gauche manner, he is hired by the minister Alexandre Taillard de Vorms (Thierry L'Hermite) to work at the foreign ministry drafting speeches for the minister himself. His lack of previous political experience makes him an easy target for the power struggles and back- stabbing of the minister's support network of advisers and back room staff. And it's not long before he's spinning between the minister, his chief of staff (Niels Arestrup) and a cabal of hard- nosed technocrats. Gradually Arthur learns the skills he needs to survive and find his place in the cut-throat world of high-level international diplomacy.Translating what works on the written page to the big screen is a difficult task and Tavernier has plumped for the rhythm of the original comic strip, with one scene following another in quick succession. A couple of devices come straight from the comic strip format itself. Each time Vorms enters a room, for example, he is preceded by a gust of wind, a visual 'woosh', that sends books and papers flying and his language at times descends into childish invention. But Vorms is no fool. He is passionate about his role as foreign minister and is an exacting, if at times, slightly hysterical boss. L'Hermitte is perfectly cast as the academic, haughty minister who has the heart of a poet but not the talent. He shows a skill for comedy rarely exploited in recent years. One of the film's funniest scenes is a lecture by the minister to his staff on the importance of using a fluorescent pen to highlight a text delivered by l'Hermitte with just the right touch of insanity. Arestrup, as the faithful, world weary eminence grise, is the perfect counterpoint to the high-maintenance foreign minister and his Buddha-like presence often acts as a brake to stop the action from spinning out of control.The film ends with a speech delivered by Vorms/Villepin to the UN back in 2003, the only speech ever to have received a standing ovation from the other members of the organisation. It's a moving finale to a whirlwind, behind-the-scenes tour of French diplomacy. Although some of the scenes seem to stretch credibility, Villepin is said to have seen the film and reported that it doesn't go far enough!