Let it Rain (Parlez-moi de la pluie) (2008)

76% of critics liked it
(46 reviews)
40% of users liked it
(11,289 ratings)

Many regard the satirically inclined writer-director-star Agnès Jaoui (Le Goût des Autres) as a European equivalent of Woody Allen. The cerebral comedy Let It Rain represents Jaoui's third effort in the said capacities, and finds her juggling preoccupations with gender politics and class… More Many regard the satirically inclined writer-director-star Agnès Jaoui (Le Goût des Autres) as a European equivalent of Woody Allen. The cerebral comedy Let It Rain represents Jaoui's third effort in the said capacities, and finds her juggling preoccupations with gender politics and class differences. Here, she plays Agathe Villanova, a feminist author with political plans who heads off to the summer residence of her early years to address some unfinished family business with her sister, Florence (Pascale Arbillot). Once there, her path crisscrosses with two documentarists shooting a film about powerful women -- Karim (Jamel Debbouze) and Michel (Jean-Pierre Bacri, Jaoui's off-camera husband and creative partner, who co-authored the script with her). She agrees to be interviewed for the film, leading to a series of arguments between Karim and Michel about how best to film her; meanwhile, Agnes offers to help Karim out by setting up a job for him, little recognizing the complications that this will yield. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 38 min.
Directed By: Agnès Jaoui
Written By: Agnès Jaoui, Jean-Pierre Bacri
Genres: Drama, Comedy

In Theaters: Jun 18, 2010 Wide
On DVD: Jul 28, 2009
Studio: IFC Films

Critic Reviews

Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post
Not a laugh riot, but neither is it played for melodrama.
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
It's graceful in presenting its ideas, and what emerges is not a polemic but a kind of snapshot of modern-day concerns.
Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer
At times Let It Rain recalls one of those Katharine Hepburn comedies where the New Woman gets cut down to size so as not to intimidate the Old-School Men. Yet the film so likably deflates the pompous and pumps up the humble that it's hard not to like.
J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader
The character conflicts are so decorously handled that after a while the whole enterprise begins to seem more like a good waiter than a good story.
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal
Beautifully strange and affecting...
Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger
A movie in which everyone was this disappointed, and nobody changed, would be a very sad film, and that's not Jaoui's intent. She's not a cynic but a humanist and, by the end of the film, most of these people have taken some steps toward change.
Sean Axmaker, Seanax.com
For all the affairs, the jealousy, the self-involvement and the obliviousness of some characters, these are lives in lower case...
Nick Schager, Lessons of Darkness
Incapable of rising above mere pleasantness.
Kelly Vance, East Bay Express
Not funny "ha-ha" but funny "huh?"
Stan Hall, Oregonian
Agnès Jaoui's light farce is so crafty that one might not notice that the breezy story is really about a successful woman getting cut down to size for being too controlling.
Brian Tallerico, Movie Retriever
May be a light lunch compared to the full meal of some other recent French offerings but it still tastes damn good.
Eric Kohn, indieWIRE
Refreshingly (for American audiences, anyway), everyone in "Let It Rain" has genuinely good intentions.
Ed Scheid, Boxoffice Magazine
The performances are excellent, even if none of the characters are all that likeable or involving. Bacri and Debbouze make an intriguing double act.
Laura Clifford, Reeling Reviews
...funnier than [Jaoui's] earlier films and specializes in commenting on how a character's strength or fragility affects their relationships.
Sam Adams, AV Club
A passing delight is a delight all the same.

Read all 15 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Anthony L

This one?s a slow starter but your patience is rewarded. It?s a subtle story of self-importance with a Eric Rohmer feel about it but without the humour or great script. The real reason to watch this film is for the brilliant performances by Jean-Pierre Bacri & Jamel Debbouze.

Cast

            Agnès Jaoui as Agathe Villanova

            Jean-Pierre Bacri as Michel Ronsard

            Jamel Debbouze as Karim

            Pascale Arbillot as Florence

            Guillaume De Tonquedec as StÃ©phane

            Frederic Pierrot as Antoine

            Mimouna Hadji as Mimouna

            Florence Loiret-Caille as AurÃ©lie

            Anne Werner as SÃ©verine

            Jean-Claude Baudracco as Ernest le paysan

            Luc Palun as Didier le paysan

            Marc Betton as Producer

            Laurent Jarroir as Guillaume

            Candide Sanchez as Priest

            Bernard Nissille as Man at Baptism

            Alain Bouscary as Waiter

            Daniele Douet as Rodolphe's Mother

            Sacha Rousselet as Florence's Child

            Sonam Roussel as Florence's Child

            Alexandre Dobrowolski as Rodolphe

            Victoria Cohen as Agathe as a Child

            Morgane Kerhousse as Florence as a Child

            Mimouna Arab as Young Mimouna

            Isabelle Devaux as Villanova Mother

            Antoine Garceau as Villanova Father

            Jacques Rebouillat as Patron of the Karim Hotel

            Amélie Bardon as AmÃ©lie Bardon

            Sarah Barrau as Receptionist
See full cast