Rumba (2008)

84% of critics liked it
(25 reviews)
65% of users liked it
(548 ratings)

Fate starts making trouble for a high-spirited young couple in this wildly offbeat French comedy. Dom (Dominique Abel) and Fiona (Fiona Gordon) spend their days as teachers at a grade school in a small town, and by night they motor off to the big city and dazzle the crowds at dance contests with… More Fate starts making trouble for a high-spirited young couple in this wildly offbeat French comedy. Dom (Dominique Abel) and Fiona (Fiona Gordon) spend their days as teachers at a grade school in a small town, and by night they motor off to the big city and dazzle the crowds at dance contests with their moves on the floor. After picking up a trophy at a competition one evening, Dom and Fiona are driving home when a man with a death wish dashes into the road. They manage to avoid hitting him, but lose control of their car and end up in a serious accident. The next morning, Fiona discovers she's lost one of her legs, while Dom has suffered brain damage that's causes his powers of memory to go haywire. Plucky Dom and Fiona try to go on with their lives as if nothing has changed, but despite their high spirits and can-do attitude, reality has a habit of getting in the way -- Fiona has a hard time leaning to use crutches and accidentally sets her artificial limb on fire, while Dom's attempts at cooking are hampered by his inability to remember what ingredients he's already put into the mix. Stars Dominique Abel and Fiona Gordon also wrote and directed Rumba in collaboration with Bruno Romy. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 17 min.
Directed By: Dominique Abel, Fiona Gordon
Genres: Art House & International, Comedy

In Theaters: Sep 10, 2008 Wide
On DVD: Sep 15, 2009
Studio: Filmoption International

Critic Reviews

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader
The story plays out with an absolute minimum of dialogue, and the visual gags are highly inventive. In a comedy market dominated by crudity, sarcasm, and smug pop-culture references, laughs this pure hit like lightning.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
It's not terrifically funny, but then how could it be? The influence of Jacques Tati abides in the material, without his sunniness.
Rick Groen, Globe and Mail
* If you've ever laughed at and revelled in the films of Buster Keaton or Harold Lloyd or Jacques Tati, then Rumba will seem a delightful blast from the silent past.
Jason Anderson, Toronto Star
A near-silent Belgian farce about a married pair of competitive Latin dancers whose lives go badly but amusingly awry, Rumba features plenty of fancy footwork.
John Beifuss, Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)
A delight.
David Cornelius, DVDTalk.com
It's impossible not to love these weirdos.
Marty Mapes, Movie Habit
Tasty comedy descended from silent film comedy and Napoleon Dynamite
Edward Porter, Times [UK]
The comedy is blackish at times, but is always informed by the film's essential spirit, which is cheerful bordering on cutesy.
Philip French, Observer [UK]
Funny, inventive, extremely touching and never cruel. It flirts with tragedy, without becoming morbid.
David Jenkins, Time Out
This charming, affectionately crafted and gleefully unfashionable comic miniature from writing/directing troupe Abel, Gordon and Romy slips down a treat.
Wendy Ide, Times [UK]
The film combines a loony tunes cruelty with the precise comic choreography of the great movie clowns.
Peter Bradshaw, Guardian [UK]
You will need to be a little patient and indulgent with this brand of comedy, but its sweetness of nature will win you round.
Laurence Boyce, Little White Lies
From the moments of bravura comedy to the tightly plotted series of coincidences, Rumba is a reminder just how powerful a medium it can be.
Derek Malcolm, This is London
The film's innate sense of humour and the naïve poetry of its making, which admittedly sometimes descends into whimsy, provide a resolutely optimistic feel.
Rob Daniel, Sky Movies
Remember the comedy of Jacques Tati? Okay, how's about the wordless wackiness of Benny Hill? That is what the filmmaking trio of Rumba ape in this often laugh out loud funny romcom.
Sam Wigley, Total Film
Dominique Abel and Fiona Gordon prove worthy heirs to the gangly genius of Jacques Tati in this surreal comic gem.
Nigel Andrews, Financial Times
The film could be cleverer, funnier, better-timed. Où sont les Tatis d'antan? But Gordon and Abel - she an anorexic Tilda Swinton, he a slightly squashed version of John Gordon Sinclair (Gregory's Girl) - are appealing comic presences.
Allan Hunter, Daily Express
Some of the elaborate routines of escalating chaos raise a sympathetic smile but mostly Rumba feels like being forced to watch a mime artist for an hour and quarter.
Matthew Turner, ViewLondon
Likeable, offbeat and frequently very funny Franco-Belgian comedy, though its Jacques Tati-style buffoonery occasionally misfires and might prove too whimsical for some tastes.
Alistair Harkness, Scotsman
A droll, near wordless and, at times, ingeniously staged comedy.