The Coubertin spiritthe Olympics we love
As the Olympic flame arrives this Wednesday, May 8 in France and the summer event, namely the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, becomes a little more concrete, The Coubertin spirit arrives at the cinema at the right time. And this comedy, the first feature film by Jérémie Sein, director of the series Parliament -, he is so successful that his irony and caustic humor go crazy a nice freshness against the great emotion with which one awaits the sporting event. But Olympics in Paris or not, The Coubertin spirit it exists in perfect autonomy, and ultimately the Olympics seem just a pretext to stage a sports comedy with the flavor of Frat. Packageand especially Will Ferrell’s works in this genre with The kings of skating OR Semi-professional.
This story needs a hero, a boy like no other, and that’s the point The Coubertin spirit by Paul Bosquet, 26 years old, world champion in sport shooting at 25 meters and policeman in civilian life. Let’s add that he is also crazy, virgin, socially handicapped and with a huge broom somewhere you know. Accompanied to these Olympic Games by his coach Sonia (Emmanuelle Bercot), a former specialist in the discipline who lives indirectly by pampering her champion, Paul will discover more than the high-level demands of a discipline that dominates head and shoulders, the habits and customs of the sports village and the athletes who reside there. So if Paul is there to win and alone represents France’s last chance at a medal, that’s something else he will win in these few days of competition.
A collective celebration of humor
As Pierre de Coubertin would have said: “the important thing is to participate“False”, “very false” reply the athletes and sportsmen, for whom being second is a humiliation. So, in The Coubertin spiritthe rule would be rather that “the important thing is to have a good laugh and have funAnd we enjoy it, alongside these characters and their interpreters.
There is Rivaldo Pawawi, a Kanak actor who plays Jacob, a swimmer from a small island in the Pacific who swims very poorly but who is there to send a political and ecological message. In reality he is there above all to have fun with his multiple conquests, which parade around the room he shares with Paul. There is the formidable comedy duo DAVA – Sacha Behar and Augustin Schakelpopoulos -, dark humor specialists who plays a “right-wing” (sic) journalist and consultant on a 24-hour news channel. Each of their appearances is hilarious and refined by the scrolling of ironic information banners. We also include Grégoire Ludig and Laura Felpin, who each bring their own style to this great celebration of comics.
Jérémie Sein perfectly manages to marry and balance these different talents and their humor, with the generous gesture of sharing the comic line of his film. It’s in there The Coubertin spirit this idea which, for this son of a former sports journalist, is to have fun, win and if necessary lose Together. As such, The Coubertin spirit celebrates its cast like the Olympics celebrates their athletes, and is very successful.
Benjamin Voisin transforms and excels
He who holds The Coubertin spirit, and around whom these formidable secondary characters evolve, is Benjamin Voisin. Notable in Summer 85 AND Lost illusionspropelled young people first of French cinema, the actor is here unrecognizable, adorned with a less than attractive hairstyle, glasses and goatee. The accessories help, but it is above all in the posture, in the walk, in the facial tics and in the semi-blocked dialogues from the chest that the actor demonstrates all his talent.
Funny when you discover it, it remains funny until the end. But it gradually instills another emotion. Since he is already an established athlete in an anonymous discipline, it is not there that he must reveal himself, but in his personal life, in his real life. That of a provincial boy, solitary and not necessarily very intelligent, but who comes into contact with others to find himself a truth and a touching emotion. With this journey, Jérémie Sein goes beyond the farce he stages to offer points of view on the desire of athletes and the political resonance that their performances can have.
Without this ideal embodiment of Benjamin Voisin, Lobjective success of The Coubertin spirit perhaps that wouldn’t be enough to make it much more than a good film, which we would end up forgetting. But since then physics and geometry very particular about its main character, The Coubertin spirit offers great ideas for cinema, including very orderly shots which, combined with the chaotic freedom of the film’s events, give it a unique energy. We therefore laugh a lot and are even moved, by surprise, at the end of this excellent comedy which confirms the great talent of Benjamin Voisin and reveals Jérémie Sein as a filmmaker to follow.
The Coubertin Spirit, in theaters from May 8, 2024. Above is the trailer. Find all our trailers here.
Source: Cine Serie
Ray Ortiz is a journalist at Gossipify, known for his coverage of trending news and current events. He is committed to providing readers with accurate and unbiased reporting, and is respected for his ability to keep readers informed on the latest news and issues.