Teringer An Exercise In Nonsense

Odelecol Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Abbigail Bush what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Tayyab Torres Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Wendell Ricketts 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.

yamenj-1 Last week i went to see the movie La Graine et Le mullet. The movie started with close shots on the faces , which is good as a start in some movies especially the movies that emphasize family values but, it sticked to the faces as in porno movies to the level that you feel that your space perception is already invaded and you feel uncomfortable. Personally I felt like I wanted to go back to the last seat-line in the cinema just to be as far as possible from these annoying shouting characters who, obviously, and despite the good acting, succeeded to make me angry and feel like I wanted to shout back at them loudly, Heck off ! Why ,for god's sake, to repeat the word Couscous thousands of times !!! Why to shoot these endless scenes of uncertainty and emptiness !!! If the film was meant to be a satiric movie and ironically telling stories about foreign families in France ,, I would say the director was genius, because he succeeded to make me angry in a way that i can't remember my self getting angry in a cinema like that. But if he meant to shoot a real life image of these families in France ,, I wish i wouldn't have fell in that nest !! Orientalism-promoting+abuse in the sake of making money !! especially when it comes from an oriental director, in the west !!! I can imagine the success of this film in France and Europe… this is the way they like to see the orient ! and he supplied the best material for that ! endless scenes of shouting, belly dancing which made me not wanting to look at the screen anymore, full of shame !! The kids of the new generation in Frnace against the old one, endlessly teasing the father of the family.The editing was really bad. Long scenes. Interesting story and good actors but the emptiness prevails. Household super clichés and no proper ending after suffering for more than 2 hours ! My rate is 2-3 , the points are for the actors . A bad film .

TheFluffyKnight Abdel Kechiche's tragicomedy is a film of contradictions and contrasts. It is both quiet and boisterous, with a script that is both understated and energetic, and which explores (among other things) how communities both accept immigrants, and yet remain suspicious of them.Couscous follows sixty-something Slimane Beiji, a Tunisian-French shipyard worker in the French port town of Sète, played with reserved dignity by Habib Boufares. Despite being divorced, Slimane still spends a lot of time with his ex-wife and their extended family. The rest of his time is spent with his girlfriend and her daughter, who own a quayside hotel.When Slimane is laid off, it comes as the last straw in a life that has become increasingly redundant. Left with nothing to lose, he hits upon the idea of opening a restaurant on an old boat. The project becomes a focal point for Slimane's extended family: his sons lend a hand with the boat's renovation; his girlfriend's daughter helps acquiring the necessary bank loans and official documents; and his ex-wife will cook the restaurants signature dish – the eponymous couscous.The restaurant works as a symbol of the hopes and dreams of immigrants – how all they want is to integrate and work in their new community, whilst still retaining the culture and customs of their homeland. But it also signifies the duality of a community's attitude toward immigrants. During a party thrown to promote Slimane's restaurant, the guests all compliment their host and try their hand at a little Arabic; and yet, when Slimane's back is turned, they whisper amongst themselves that "he's not from around here." But Couscous really shines in its extended scenes of dialogue. At several points during the film we join Slimane and his family as they sit in kitchens or dining rooms and do nothing but talk. And it is a joy to watch. The script shows an eye for authentic dialogue, meandering through topics as diverse as racism in the workplace, the extortionate price of nappies, and using Arabic in the bedroom. The genuine performances from the supporting cast draw us further into these scenes, and the cinematography keeps us there. The camera squeezes between family members, getting the kind of intimate close-ups that give a real impression of a loud family dinner.This light-hearted attitude, present in the early scenes, contrasts with a grimmer final third, in which situations get progressively worse. And as things get worse, family relationships start to break down.This also reveals the film's ultimate irony. Slimane's family is a close-knit unit when the members each live separate lives. But when the restaurant brings them together, family unity dissolves and they resort to serious bickering.

mikielior 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.