Adiós, idiotas

Two characters on the edge, for different reasons, meet by chance, towards an inevitable end.

This could simultaneously be the summary plot of a romantic comedy written by Nora Ephon or a road movie written by Wim Wenders.

The result is a hybrid, written, performed and directed by Albert Dupontel, which, without ever claiming to be a work of author, the general tone is manifestly mainstream, in the rhythm, in the humor, in the glamor of the settings and characters, it does not leave to wink at the most creative universe of Monty Python, whether in the opening dedication to Terry Jones, or in Terry Gilliam's participation in a small but delicious role as a weapons salesman.

Adieu les Cons is not Monty Python, nor Nora Ephron, nor even Wim Wenders. It is Albert Dupontel, an experienced actor, director and screenwriter, who is well worth knowing, and signs a very interesting work here, on the most varied levels.

French films are a world apart -for good- and this is problably one of the very best you could watch right now. Original, imaginative and very well shot. Outstanding casting.

I watched Au Revoir Là-Haut (See You Up There for the English title) followed by Adieu Les Cons (Bye Bye Morons for the English title), both movies by writer/director Albert Dupontel, in which he also plays the major role. I can only say I'm a fan from now on. Au Revoir Là-Haut was more artistic than Adieu Les Cons, but they are both very enjoyable to watch. Adieu Les Cons is something different from the rest, with an interesting engaging story that is easy to follow and that has nice inventive twists and turns, it's all well written, but also very well acted and that from the whole cast. It clearly deserves it's high rating on here. I can't see what people could dislike about this movie. It's certainly one of the better French movies I watched this decennia. You can't really compare it to Au Revoir Là-Haut which has a totally different story but you certainly recognize that typical vibe you get from Albert Dupontel.

Sorry but I definitely could not get it. I could not say if this movie was to laugh or to wep, was it a comedy or a downbeat drama, an amusing social satyre or a gloomy story about people fighting against somethng stronger than them in a combat lost in advance? I was totally bewildered in front of this mix up. I know that's the Dupontel speciality but here, I could not make it. That doesn't mean the movie is awful, lousy or uninteresting. No, just that too much tragedy kills comedy, and too much comedy kills tragedy. You can't have both. That"s my own opinion.

Goodbyes are meaningful with Albert Dupontel. After "Au-Revoir Là-Haut" (See You Up There) (2017), "Adieu les Cons" (Bye Bye Morons) (2020) is another farewell full of sense that Dupontel delivers with poetry, humour and a rebel spirit.

Bye Bye Morons takes place nowadays in France, a country he describes as crippled by its heavy bureaucracy, drowned in a consumer society that promotes individualism as a great value. Don't be mistaken. The film is in fact way less agitator than his first movies. I would call it a feelgood movie about people in need having their revenge on what the society imposes on them. It's trivial enough to entertain without needing to be too focused and at the same time, clever and inventive enough to catch all our attention and get the message behind it .

Albert Dupontel, the director, is a former stand-up comedian (who used to play outsiders of the society who did not adapt to the consumer society and who were ready to blow up the place for it), he's also a long time punk and anarchist sympathizer (it might help to understand the screenplay and the end of the movie) and now, he is an internationally recognized director (after his previous film See You Up There who was unquestionably a must see film of 2017). This film is a continuity with what he has always done, another farewell of his own to criticize our material society, individualism and the state repression of the most needing people. Beyond the story that is rather classical (a death diagnosized woman who wants to make a last good action before she dies ), what is joyful in this film is the constant humour Albert Dupontel resorts to, the hints to our perverted society and a colorful poetry that he disseminates throughout the film . One will recognize the nods to the recent police violence in France, to our over connected habits, our deshumanization in several places of our society . In this film, Dupontel shows a great sense of drama, with camera effects that serve the sense he wants to give , with a thin skinned sensitivity. All this sensitivity aspect would not have been possible without the amazing in-put of Virginie Effira, the "in fashion actress" of the French cinema over the last 5 years. Her work is once again remarkable in this movie. I believe the film would have lost part of his credits without her. However, to me, the main features of every Dupontel's film are his camera and graphics inventions. I guess the best example would be what he resorts to show the dehumanization of the administration, with the never ending spiral staircase as a representation of the vicious circle in which the characters find themselves and the never ending process that is required in a state administration. Another example is the rotating camera on several portraits of important managers at several levels of the administration to show how resortless are the characters of the movie. The reflection over the time passing by and the changes on the landscape in modern cities will certainly speak to many of us too. It is to me, this kind of details, all the camera effects and the graphics inventions that allow him to turn a rather classical story into a moving portrait of our individual consumer society. In that sense, this film is a success . I am more skeptical about the end of the movie (very foreseeable) and the photography of the film which has something to do with Amelie Poulain but which did not make that much effect on me. The red light through the film looks unreal, almost cheesy. Despite these little drawbacks, the film has the merit of bringing you into a special mood, a very Dupontel's atmosphere in which the two main characters (or the three, with the blind person who has got the funny part) kind of float over this colorful society that does not have time nor space for them. Bye Bye Morons has it all in its title, it is indeed a very good movie, well thought, done with creative effects and for this we hope it was just a good-bye and not an "adieu" from Dupontel who looks like he's got a lot to say left.