A Difficult Year

Director: Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache
Starring: Pio Marmai, Noemie Merlant, Jonathan Cohen and Gregoire Leprince-Ringuet
Distributor: Palace Films
Runtime: 120 mins. Reviewed in Sep 2024
Reviewer: Peter W Sheehan

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Rating notes: Occasional coarse language

This French subtitled film tells the story of two men, who join a protest movement group and take part in radical action after one of them succumbs to the charms of the group’s leader.
Albert (Marmai) and Bruno (Cohen) are drawn into political activism by the promise of free beer and food. They owe a lot of money to family, co-workers and friends; and Bruno, who has been abandoned by his wife and child, sleeps rough. They take advantage of the group, but Bruno succumbs to the charms of Valentine (Merlant), a deeply committed and vivacious leader of a group of protesters.
Her group attracts a lot of media attention, and Albert and Bruno inject humour into whatever they do, which motivates the group.
The directors (Toledano and Nakache) were responsible for the successful Untouchable (2011), which explored the relationship between a youthful caregiver and a disabled man. As with that film, this movie blends comedy and drama by mixing sorrow and joy, and in projecting both emotions, the social needs of the homeless gain added meaning. The film satirises rich people, and those who flaunt ‘privilege’, and showcases the concerns of the activists by highlighting the fact that protesters care about a wide range of social issues, which include the toxicity of wealth creation, climate warming and authoritarian controls that misidentify personal struggles in difficult times.
French comedies frequently demonstrate a flair for good situational humour. Albert and Bruno attempt to infiltrate the Bank of France by holding a protest meeting at the bank, when things get spectacularly out of hand; situational comedy also scores in scenes that show Bruno trying to sell give-away airline products to arriving passengers.
The film heavily satirises protest groups, but values the messages that lie behind the activism that energise them. However, the film ultimately focuses on social causes rather than human relationships. We never really learn what lies ahead for Albert, Bruno and Valentine, or how homelessness can be socially overcome. A stirring, romantic finale helps, but protest politics are the film’s major thrust.