The French Minister

Political humor is not, by any stretch, universally shared. Case in point being this frenetic, somewhat unfocused farce from usually on-target French filmmaker Bertrand Tavernier. Here, young neophyte speechwriter Arthur Vlaminck (Raphaël Personnaz) finds himself hanging on for dear life as he tries to keep pace with French Minister of Foreign Affairs (and human dynamo) Alexandre Taillard de Worms (Thierry Lhermitte), who steamrolls through diplomatic entanglements despite having a frightfully poor understanding of France's place in today's geopolitical environment. Tavernier employs a rat-a-tat-tat approach to political satire in this adaptation of Abel Lanzac's graphic novel Quai d'Orsay (inspired by former French Minister Dominique de Villepin), but never quite pulls off this quick-talking/slamming-door style of comedy. A minor disappointment from a major cinematic talent, this should still be considered a strong optional purchase. (P. Hall)