The Corsican File (2004)

Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Good start, but then it gets ruined

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

A good portrait of Corsica, those who know this part of France will definitely enjoy it. Many actors are actual residents of Corsica, and the ambiance is nicely translated.Even though the scenario isn't very complicated and elaborated, the story keeps you in and melts with the various aspects of Corsica : beautiful scenery, good charcuterie, good cheese, strong character (chants Corses, gangs preventing over-building), and of course the exquisite Myrte.Christian Clavier and Jean Reno fit their role very well, a good movie that will make you laugh and want to visit this beautiful part of France.

It's quite simple: It's almost impossible for foreigners to understand what's going on in this movie. You have to understand that this movie is based on a famous french comic-book. Therefore the jokes are exaggerated and - without any exception - all characters fit into well-known French/Corsican clichés. It's definitely not a big movie - but for Frenchmen (or people living in France, like me) it's at least very amusing. The Corsican landscape is pretty well filmed. Some of the scenes are indeed very stupid and without any logic - but please remember the comic book background. Reno and Clavier are o.k., but the real sensation is the incredibly beautiful leading lady (Ange Leoni's sister) - she is just worth looking this picture.

The movies is a quite good one in its category. It will give you some good time and laughs while you follow the story of the detective from Paris and the local people of Corse.Do not expect deep thoughts, special effects, multimillion setups or Oscar nominee scenes. Just some good time to relax. That's what the film is meant for...Jean Reno and Christian Clavier will provide you with their acting talent. They are very good at making you smile or laugh. 'Lea' gives something for the eyes. The locals give you some parody of the Corsican historical heritage...

Here on the European continent we have the luck to have some good titles from independent studios to freshen up the much standardized Hollywood look. What is more, when such a film comes, it is usually a quality movie so it can keep up with the competition from the US. Therefore I really hoped that after L'Opération Corned-Beef, Les Visiteurs, Tais-toi!, the name of Jean Reno and Christian Clavier, will be a guarantee for a good 2 hours to laugh at - however I hardly had a few minutes to smile tonight.Christian Clavier plays a detective (Rémi or Jack Palmer) who is sent with a fake story to Corse, to look up Ange Léoni (Jean Reno), leader of the a local terrorist-separatist group. There he meets the stunning sister of Ange, Léa (Caterina Murino) and a lot of trouble.Unfortunately, despite the good setup and some good names from French comedy, the interpretation is quite week. The almost Miss Italy Caterina Murino playing the sexy diva was the only point of attraction keeping our attention on the screen, at least that of the men audience. Otherwise, frame after frame, the story was getting more and more complicated, ages away from reality, with even more overacting and exaggerated jokes each time. The action movie sequences were of original idea but the usual problem of French action movies, the lack of money, showed.You can skip this one in peace - 4/10.