Louise-Michel (2007)

80% of critics liked it
(15 reviews)
58% of users liked it
(621 ratings)

Absurdist duo Benoit Delepine and Gustave Kervern follow-up 2004's Aaltra with this sparse black comedy in which the recently-fired female employees at a children's clothing factory pool their funds to put a hit on their callous boss. Out of work and down on her luck, ex-con Louise (Yolande Moreau)… More Absurdist duo Benoit Delepine and Gustave Kervern follow-up 2004's Aaltra with this sparse black comedy in which the recently-fired female employees at a children's clothing factory pool their funds to put a hit on their callous boss. Out of work and down on her luck, ex-con Louise (Yolande Moreau) proposes to her jobless sisters that they do something useful by ridding the world of the man who put them all in their current situation. But while security specialist Michel (Bouli Lanners) seems like the perfect candidate to carry out the hit, his ineptitude is so great that he attempts to sub-contract the job to a series of inexperienced - and highly inappropriate - assassins. Notorious Belgian actor Benoît Poelvoorde cameos as a nut-job 9/11 conspiracy theorist, and actor/director Mathieu Kassovitz turns up as an organic hotelier. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: PG, 1 hr. 30 min.
Directed By: Benoît Delépine, Gustave Kervern
Written By: Benoît Delépine, Gustave Kervern
Genres: Drama, Art House & International, Comedy

In Theaters: Dec 24, 2008 Wide

Critic Reviews

Graham Young, Birmingham Mail
Even by English-language black comedy standards, it's a decidedly odd mixture of fun and revenge.
Peter Bradshaw, Guardian [UK]
Some definite laughs.
Julian White, Little White Lies
Definitely more enjoyable when you break it down into bits and pieces in your head afterwards.
John Ferguson, Radio Times
Although directors Gustave Kervern and Benoît Delépine strive a little too hard at times for outrage, it's still wickedly funny, and Moreau and Lanners are terrific as the grotesque anti-heroes.
David Parkinson, Empire Magazine
A darkly funny film in the same vein as Micmacs, in this French crime caper political correctness gets le boot.
David Jenkins, Time Out
Offers a rousing reminder of the power (and eccentricities) of the pissed-off proletariat.
Tom Dawson, Total Film
The laughs are defiantly non-PC, but there's no doubting the sympathetic handling of the working-class heroes, nor the righteous rage at the injustices of contemporary capitalism.
, At the Movies (Australia)
This is the best comedy I've seen since Burn After Reading or Death At A Funeral. It's terrific.
Margaret Pomeranz, At the Movies (Australia)
These two losers are so uncharming, so witless, so unfunny that I really found this film about them an arduous experience.
, Empire Magazine Australasia
Often crass and never politically correct, Louise-Michel ultimately fails to reach its potential.
Jake Wilson, The Age (Australia)
As stylists, Kervern and Delepine specialise in turning industrial landscapes into cartoon playgrounds, through sight gags that rely on offscreen space -- leaving crucial events to the imagination.
Mark Demetrius, FILMINK (Australia)
Complete with an absurdist black humour and a bizarre collection of farcical set pieces, Louise-Michel is a hit and miss affair.
Louise Keller, Urban Cinefile
I love good black comedy, but I really didn't get this one. Perhaps it whizzed over my head like some of those bullets.
Kent Turner, Film-Forward.com
In its funniest moments, the film displays the delicate timing of the best silent comedies.
Nick Schager, Slant Magazine
Anarchic craziness makes the revolutionary message go down smoothly in Louise-Michel.

Read all 15 critic reviews

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Cast

Yolande Moreau
as Louise
Bouli Lanners
as Michel
Benoît Poelvoorde
as Guy the Engineer

Yannick Jaulin
as Bank Employee
Albert Dupontel
as Miro
Philippe Katerine
as Himself

See full cast