His Majesty Minor (2007)
In this offbeat comedy, a man raised by a pig dies and is resurrected with a newfound power of speech, elevating his stature among his fellow humans.
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Highly Overrated But Still Good
I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.
By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.
The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
The only good thing in this film is Mélanie Bernier and her defence speech.. after that leave the cinema or turn off the film.. there is nothing worth watching after that moment (nor really before that moment, if I'm honest). What is stunning is that the cast is very good.. Cassel, Garcia, Brasseur are normally good value for money. However, Garcia's role is pitiful and Cassel's role is ridiculous (and this has to be his worst film since 'Agents Secrets').. I'm guessing they thought the film would work as there is regular baring of flesh (see reference to Mélanie Bernier) and the odd pseudo-intellectual repartee about power and lust. The film tries to portray a message but unfortunately it was lost on me and the other dozen or so cinema-goers (of which many didn't stay longer 30 minutes before walking out) and it was the first night the film was out!!! This film deserves a place in the IMDb Bottom 100.
I went to an advance screening without any prejudices although I was not really fascinated by the scent of mythical comedy. Sa Majesté Minor proves to be mostly funny but I feel now it should have geared into something still crazier at some point halfway through the movie.Would it have been too easy, too mundane to let Minor become a fully fledged tyrant? To let him become a political beast, and leave behind gradually his buoyant humane bestiality? Eventually I am a bit disappointed Gerard Brach's last story is not more of a fantastic fable. As such the movie is a pagan tidbit while I think Brach could have made it a universal tale. JJ Annaud too could have make this story take off instead of sealing off narration in and around the -almost Gallic- village. Moreover I think the narration titles are ugly, they do not make up for the lack of a comic chorus that would have bound the story together.In a nutshell let's say Minor is a nice character, nice to a fault since the movie aims to keep the same comic pace all along while the story seems to require a change in rhythm.