Our selection of 3 films to catch up on DVD or VOD

2. “Barbarians”

by Julie Delpy
Dramatic comedy. 1 h 41. Available on DVD and Blu-ray.

Since her first feature film, the director has accustomed us to a tone that is both direct, committed and fanciful. In this comedy, Julie Delpy continues her exploration of manners of our time in the heart of a pretty little Breton village.

Here we are in Paimpont (Ille-et-Vilaine) where, under the cameras of local television, the inhabitants are preparing to accommodate a Ukrainian refugee bus. Except that those who descend are … Syrians.

This last minute change destabilizes all these little people, reveals the fears and prejudices of certain inhabitants. Faced with newcomers, Laurent Lafitte, Drôlissime, embodies a xenophobic and macho plumber. But over the sequences, the villagers discover people in search of appeasement and, above all, of freedom.

In the role of Joëlle, the teacher full of good will and lessons, Julie Delpy finds the right tone. Around her, a band of talented comedians embody comic and endearing characters, of the turned grooved (irresistible Sandrine Kiberlain) with an overflowed via the earthy Syrian grandfather.

Under the features of humor, the questions of the reception, the withdrawal of identity and the political courage irrigate the film which succeeds greatly in shooting our fears in derision.

Our opinion: PPP