Watches
August 14, 2020
A clumsy and bland thriller. When a young family moves to a small town in France to start their life anew, it's easy enough to imagine the initial discomfort, especially since they don't speak the language very well. But then it turns out that the village is overrun by Dutch people and it's really just a predictable story about a poorly concealed con job.
Performances are weak, with Haverkort in particular looking very uncomfortable and lost. The plot is too transparent, the attempts to add some sensuality are weak and the entire soundtrack is stuffed with Stromae songs, possibly because those are the only French-language songs known to the film's core audience.
The only thing that jumps out is the ending. Not because the twist is so amazing, but because it makes so little sense. It also felt emotionally dishonest, which made me wonder what the director actually hoped to accomplish. Maybe the book made more sense, but this film really wasn't worth the hassle.