The Worst Film Ever

Lack of good storyline.

Awesome Movie

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Film director Abdel Kechiche became so involved with the footage for the picture La Graine et le Mulet (The Secret of the Grain) which tells the story of a big dysfunctional family of Tunisian immigrants in the southern French port town of Sete that he could not part with a smallest parts of it. He dedicated the film to his father, and I would not be surprised to find out that the film characters with their traditions, everyday problems, struggles, hopes, and losses were written by Abdel Kechiche from his own family, and the story he tells was inspired by his own growing up. The Secret of the Grain is compelling and personal movie but Kechiche either should have taken another editor or let them use the scissors without reservation. The movie is long with many scenes practically begging of being significantly trimmed. It does not apply to all scenes. Some are amazingly acted, and I would not miss a second of the scene where young Rym (Hafsia Herzi) is trying to convince her mother Lilia to go to the big party in the final part of the film. A newcomer Hafsia Herzi is a born actress, and a good one. She is without a doubt a very promising talent with huge potential but her endless belly-dancing in the final was just that - endless and boring. I get the purpose of the scene but its length and the camera peering at Hafsia's belly for what seems hours, totally kills it.Kechiche shot the film in Cinéma vérité style, and while it works and lets us actually get to know the characters, overlong monologues and conversations often made me feel like watching a reality talk show which is a completely different genre altogether. The emotional and powerful monologue of Julia, the long-suffering wife of one of a male characters, would have been ten times more powerful had it been twice or even trice shorter. Yes, perhaps in reality the neglected young wife and mother would cry and complain even longer than the scene in the film lasts but we the viewers are grownups, we understand, we get it - don't hit us over the head.The film is a recipient of many Awards including four César Awards (Best Film, Best Directing, Best Writing, and Most Promising Actress for Herzi) and it was nominated for Best Editing which really surprised me. I think Kechiche deserved to be recognized and rewarded but I hope that he will be more critical with his future films. The film creator should not be afraid of cutting of all unnecessary parts of his work to let a hidden masterpiece inside it breathe freely.

This Franco-Tunisian film about an arabian family in France is extraordinary. Not only is a delightful piece of art, made by someone who really loves to show and more important than all, value the small things on life. Abdellatif Kechiche's 'La Graine et le Mulet ' is a fulfilling experience for those who are starving for a film that is both intellectually and emotionally impactive. With the close- ups in the face of the characters dialoguing, and the totally realistic, raw atmosphere and art direction, creates a feeling of intimacy between the viewer and the characters on this film, even if you have never seen them before. Also, the characters often are shown doing day-to-day things, eating in the table, but yet, everything works in function to the plot. Nothing really seems pointless. That's perhaps what is more fantastic about this film. The acting is also great. Certainly you won't regret watching this amazing film. The only complaint I have is due the fact the film is way wordier. 9/10

Absolutely one of the worst films I've ever seen and one of the worst films ever made. Couscous is an amateur hack job in every conceivable aspect, and I'm quite convinced that I know more about film-making than does Abdel Kechiche, the mooncalf who dreamed up this agonizing-to-watch attempt to create meaning out of a bad script, bad actors, and an utterly idiotic concept. The film's publicity brags that it's the "best French film of the year"; the French film industry should sue Kechiche for even suggesting such a thing. Couscous isn't slow; it's the Chinese water torture, it's root canal without anesthesia, and the film's endless high-volume conversations in which characters talk simultaneously (so you can't understand a flipping thing) are, in themselves, beyond enervating. The protracted sequences of belly-dancing (sordid and embarrassing), of people sitting in a restaurant waiting to be served, and of Habib Boufares running and running and running and running through the streets drag on for a quarter of an hour. There's not one single morsel left to suck out of them—not visual appeal, not symbolic meaning, not plot advancement. Literally nothing. Kechiche sticks his camera on a tripod and goes out for lunch. When he comes back, it's still filming, and you get to watch the entire mess. This guy needs to be banned for life from making films.

This movie reminds one very much of Fellini and his family situations with one very big difference. There is a striking clash and interaction between cultures and social position. But beyond this obvious distinction there is a total difference in the perception of time noted with annoyance by many reviewers. This is a very important factor in the directors considerations-he doesn't give a fiddlers well hoop for the distressed Europeans not to mention the Americans who will find many parts long, extended, drawn out, whatever. Thank God this is not financed by American money and that the French gave him free rein. A WONDERFUL WONDERFUL FLICK.