Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Simply Perfect

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

This film has recently been issued on a DVD in France with (French) subtitles. It is about an old father who wishes to reunite his three quarrelling sons so pretends that he is gravely ill and asks them to accompany him on a final voyage to see the whales off the coast of Canada.That is the plot of the film, but it is not therein that lies its principal interest. What captivates the spectator is the interaction of the four main characters of the film. Although the film was for the most part made in Canada ( the French-speaking part), it is essentially a French film about French people. The use of some minor Canadian characters in the film with their weird French accents gives something of an 'unusual touch' to the film but I don't think the film can be considered as Canadian/North Amercian. Canada here is just a backdrop to the relations being played out between the four main characters.I have always loved Noiret as an actor, especially with his deep voice ( I'm very sensitive to voices) and was not disappointed by his mainly light-hearted and comic performance here. I had not heard of the other young actors except Charles Berling whom I do know, but found all their performances very good. I did appreciate the comic and light-hearted attitude of the actors. The Director, Michel Boujenah, who's first film it is, states on the DVD that he wanted the film to be light-hearted and not sad !! So this can be watched without fear of a nasty shock at the end !I am not sure whether the film would appeal to non-francophone audiences as much of the fun Is in the dialogues rather than in the action, all of which supposed a reasonable to good grasp of the French language to pick up all the ironic comments and snide remarks !! Anyway, for my part, I spend a pleasant 90 minutes watching this and would probably watch again some time in the future !

I lived in Paris for 2 months last year, and on my first day there this was the movie I chose to see by myself at the cinema, as an introduction to french films. And to improve my language skills! I have to say it was a great choice. Funny, even to me with my limited knowledge of French, heartwarming and a great plot, with talented actors and the right blend of sentiment and humour. I wished all my friends were there to see it, but of course none of them speak French. recommended for newcomers to French language movies! I just wish they brought it out on DVD with English subtitles so I could let everyone back home see it! Ten out of ten! Go buy it!

This movie had everything to shine, but Boujenah did something I can't understand. He throws away the Quebec accent and replaced it by an accent so clean and polite that even the good family doesn't speak. I took what this population is so proud about like if it was a shame. This alone breaks all the mood of the film and this movie could have been shot anywhere where people speak French and we would have never seen the difference. It's just like throwing away the French bread rod or stealing the monarchy from England...

I saw this movie at the Toronto Film Festival because it starred the great actor Phillipe Noiret. It arrived with little fanfare, compared to a film like "The Barbarian Invasions," which it actually resembles. Well it turned out to be a great film, and actually better than "TBI" in that the relationships between the father and his sons were more clearly defined and developed in this film. It is touching and very funny at the same time. The film also makes some amusing digs at the French Canadians by French people from France! Anybody who sees this film will want to immediately call his or her father up if at all possible, wherever he may be, and tell him how much he is loved, for the film movingly shows the importance and uniqueness of fathers and of the power of reconciliation and forgiveness. The director in the Q & A said he wanted to simply make an entertaining film. What he has created is so much more than that!