The kings of the track is a police comedy full of twists and turns, where we take great pleasure in seeing the actress Fanny Ardant as a possessive mother who is suspicious of everything, in this completely dysfunctional family which is not very gifted for happiness nor for the little dirty tricks it accumulates.
It’s a family that lives off small-time scams. The mother, Rachel (Fanny Ardant), raised her two sons, Sam (Mathieu Kassovitz) and Jérémie (Nicolas Duvauchelle), and her grandson Nathan (Ben Attal, son of Charlotte Gainsbourg and Yvan Attal) by committing all kinds of scams. When their latest burglary goes wrong, when Jérémie steals a real painting by Tamara de Lempicka whose value he doesn’t know and then disappears, the grandson is sent to prison while Sam wants to harm his entire family. Three years pass and Nathan is released from prison, while Rachel and Sam want to find Jérémie, who is hiding in the Cotentin. Two detectives, Céleste (Lætitia Dosch) and Gauthier (Michel Vuillermoz), go after them to find the painting while Céleste seduces Sam to achieve her ends.
Director Thierry Klifa, who is making his fifth feature film (A life waiting for you, Everything separates us), opts for a light and sometimes burlesque style. He says he was inspired by Sidney Lumet’s comedy Family Business to create this endearing and offbeat family of misfits. It offers an original film where chaos and madness reign and where appearances are deceptive. We constantly wonder who is telling the truth, because everyone lies to everyone. The film also addresses the theme of family, its complex relationships, its lies and revelations, as well as the difficult relationship that one can have with one’s parents. We are reminded that two sons who grow up together can have very different personalities and destinies.
Mathieu Kassovitz (A very discreet hero) is brilliant, Nicolas Duvauchelle (The great Meaulnes) is very surprising (we can’t say more), Ben Attal is excellent, as is Laetitia Dosch as a detective with a big heart. A sparkling film.
In the room
Comedy drama
The kings of the track
Thierry Klifa
With Fanny Ardant, Mathieu Kassovitz, Nicolas Duvauchelle
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