Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis
Encyclopedia
Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis (Welcome to the Sticks or Welcome to the Land of Shtis) is a 2008 French
comedy film
starring Kad Merad
, Dany Boon
and Zoé Félix
.
The film has broken nearly every box office
record in France
: it debuted as the top film with US$
31.67 million at 793 sites. As of 28 February 2010, the film had been seen by 20.5 million people in 23 weeks, thereby breaking the record of La Grande Vadrouille
(released in 1966). The film has grossed US$194 million in France alone and $245 million worldwide.
(La Poste
) in Salon-de-Provence
, Bouches-du-Rhône
, in southern France. He is married to Julie, whose depressive character makes his life miserable. Philippe does everything to get a job at an office on the Mediterranean seaside to make her happy. As this favourable position will be granted to somebody who is disabled, Abrams decides to pretend that he is. However, the management finds out. As punishment, he is banished for two years to Bergues
, a town near Dunkirk in northern France
. Northern France –and the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region in particular – is considered "the sticks" – a cold and rainy place inhabited by unsophisticated ch'tis who speak a strange language (called "ch'ti
" in local parlance, and "cheutimi" in the South. He has to spend his first night at Antoine's place – Antoine is one of his co-workers. First Philippe dislikes Antoine for his rudeness and because he thinks Antoine is gay (actually, he found photographs of Antoine dressed as a woman, but they were taken during a carnival party). Finally, Antoine and Philippe become best friends.
To Philippe's surprise, Bergues proves to be a charming place teeming with warm, friendly people and co-workers. Soon, he is completely won over, eating smelly Maroilles cheese
; talking to virtually every local (by delivering their mail, and accepting the recipient's invitation for a drink); playing at the beach; playing the bells
at the bell tower
together, drinking beer like a local and so forth. He tries to describe the happy turn of events to his wife who has remained in the South with their young son, but she does not believe him. This inspires Philippe to tell her what she wants to believe: that his life is wretched there.
Everything goes fine until Julie decides to join him in the North to relieve his gloom. Philippe is forced to confess to his new friends and colleagues that he has described them as barbarians to his wife. First, they are angry, but they then decide to help him by behaving as such to cover for his lies and to scare Julie so she will depart quickly. Also they let her stay in the old mining place of Bergues, pretending it is the main town. Julie has a very bad weekend, but decides she will move to Bergues to stay with Phillipe, to be supportive.
Just when she's ready to go back south, she discovers that she has been tricked when a local biker tells Julie that the actual town of Bergues is several kilometers away. When Philippe finds Julie at his real Bergues home, he tells her the truth about the happiness and friendship that the town has brought him. Julie is disappointed at first, but after realising her husband is happy, she decides to move north to be with him.
Meanwhile, Antoine and Annabelle have been dating for over a year, but they have broken up due to Antoine's passiveness towards his mother. Despite their split, Antoine still has feelings for Annabelle, who now has a new boyfriend. Upon learning this, Antoine cheers himself up by drinking alcohol during his work hours and behaves in an erratic manner. When Phillipe urges Antoine to take courage and be assertive
, Antoine finally confesses to his mother that he loves Annabelle and is planning to move to a new place with her. Unexpectedly, his mother is happy about it – she has waited all these years for Antoine to stand up for himself. As a result, Antoine proposes to Annabelle by the bell tower when it is playing a Stevie Wonder song
. Annabelle accepts, and they get married.
Three years later, Phillipe receives a transfer to move south. Accepting the offer, Phillipe and his family move south. Just as he is about to say goodbye, he is reduced to tears, proving Antoine's theory on the Ch'tis proverb ("A visitor cries twice up north: once on his arrival and once at his departure.")
was in the process of signing a deal with Will Smith
to make an English
adaptation of the film. This new film will be called Welcome to the Sticks. At the moment it is not clear who the actors will be or what will be the exact nature of the plot, but there have been hints that part of the story will revolve around a multinational company.
An Italian
adaptation, Benvenuti al Sud
, has been produced and released by Medusa Film in 2010. The plot is similar to the original version: the manager (Claudio Bisio) of a postal service near Milan
, in northern Italy, is banished for two years in Castellabate
, a town near Salerno
, in southern Italy. Dany Boon appears in a cameo.
Cinema of France
The Cinema of France comprises the art of film and creative movies made within the nation of France or by French filmmakers abroad.France is the birthplace of cinema and was responsible for many of its early significant contributions. Several important cinematic movements, including the Nouvelle...
comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
starring Kad Merad
Kad Merad
Kad Merad, real name Kaddour Merad, is a French-Algerian actor who has acted both on stage and on screen.-As actor:* 2001: La Grande Vie ! - le motard* 2003: Bloody Christmas - l'homme...
, Dany Boon
Dany Boon
Dany Boon is a French comedian who has acted both on the stage and the screen. He takes his stage name from the television show Daniel Boone.-Life and career:...
and Zoé Félix
Zoé Félix
Zoé Félix is a French actress.-Acting career:She was discovered by an agent at the age of 17 in a bus. Two years after, she decided to contact the agent to find little acting jobs in order to pay her studies at the Beaux-Arts. She attended the Beaux-Arts for two years.-Movie:Finally she got the...
.
The film has broken nearly every box office
Box office
A box office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through an unblocked hole through a wall or window, or at a wicket....
record in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
: it debuted as the top film with US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
31.67 million at 793 sites. As of 28 February 2010, the film had been seen by 20.5 million people in 23 weeks, thereby breaking the record of La Grande Vadrouille
La Grande Vadrouille
La Grande Vadrouille is a 1966 Franco-British comedy film about how the crew of a Royal Air Force B-17 shot down over Paris must then make their way through German-occupied France with the main help of two French citizens with very different mindsets.For over forty...
(released in 1966). The film has grossed US$194 million in France alone and $245 million worldwide.
Plot
Philippe Abrams is the manager of the postal servicePost office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
(La Poste
La Poste (France)
La Poste is the mail service of France, which also operates postal services in the French Overseas Departments of Réunion, Guadeloupe, Martinique and French Guiana, and the territorial collectivities of Saint Pierre and Miquelon and Mayotte...
) in Salon-de-Provence
Salon-de-Provence
Salon-de-Provence is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in southern France. It is the location of an important air base.-History:Salon was a Gallo-Roman oppidum well positioned on the salt trade routes between Adriatic, Atlantic and Mediterranean seas, hence its name...
, Bouches-du-Rhône
Bouches-du-Rhône
Bouches-du-Rhône is a department in the south of France named after the mouth of the Rhône River. It is the most populous department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Its INSEE and postal code is 13.-History of the department:...
, in southern France. He is married to Julie, whose depressive character makes his life miserable. Philippe does everything to get a job at an office on the Mediterranean seaside to make her happy. As this favourable position will be granted to somebody who is disabled, Abrams decides to pretend that he is. However, the management finds out. As punishment, he is banished for two years to Bergues
Bergues
Bergues is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.It is situated to the south of Dunkirk and from the Belgian border. Locally it is referred to as "the other Bruges in Flanders"...
, a town near Dunkirk in northern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Northern France –and the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region in particular – is considered "the sticks" – a cold and rainy place inhabited by unsophisticated ch'tis who speak a strange language (called "ch'ti
Picard language
Picard is a language closely related to French, and as such is one of the larger group of Romance languages. It is spoken in two regions in the far north of France – Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardy – and in parts of the Belgian region of Wallonia, the district of Tournai and a part of...
" in local parlance, and "cheutimi" in the South. He has to spend his first night at Antoine's place – Antoine is one of his co-workers. First Philippe dislikes Antoine for his rudeness and because he thinks Antoine is gay (actually, he found photographs of Antoine dressed as a woman, but they were taken during a carnival party). Finally, Antoine and Philippe become best friends.
To Philippe's surprise, Bergues proves to be a charming place teeming with warm, friendly people and co-workers. Soon, he is completely won over, eating smelly Maroilles cheese
Maroilles (cheese)
Maroilles is a cow's-milk cheese made in the regions of Picardy and Nord-Pas-de-Calais in northern France. It derives its name from the village of Maroilles in the region in which it is still manufactured....
; talking to virtually every local (by delivering their mail, and accepting the recipient's invitation for a drink); playing at the beach; playing the bells
Carillon
A carillon is a musical instrument that is typically housed in a free-standing bell tower, or the belfry of a church or other municipal building. The instrument consists of at least 23 cast bronze, cup-shaped bells, which are played serially to play a melody, or sounded together to play a chord...
at the bell tower
Bell tower
A bell tower is a tower which contains one or more bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. In the European tradition, such a tower most commonly serves as part of a church and contains church bells. When attached to a city hall or other civic building, especially in...
together, drinking beer like a local and so forth. He tries to describe the happy turn of events to his wife who has remained in the South with their young son, but she does not believe him. This inspires Philippe to tell her what she wants to believe: that his life is wretched there.
Everything goes fine until Julie decides to join him in the North to relieve his gloom. Philippe is forced to confess to his new friends and colleagues that he has described them as barbarians to his wife. First, they are angry, but they then decide to help him by behaving as such to cover for his lies and to scare Julie so she will depart quickly. Also they let her stay in the old mining place of Bergues, pretending it is the main town. Julie has a very bad weekend, but decides she will move to Bergues to stay with Phillipe, to be supportive.
Just when she's ready to go back south, she discovers that she has been tricked when a local biker tells Julie that the actual town of Bergues is several kilometers away. When Philippe finds Julie at his real Bergues home, he tells her the truth about the happiness and friendship that the town has brought him. Julie is disappointed at first, but after realising her husband is happy, she decides to move north to be with him.
Meanwhile, Antoine and Annabelle have been dating for over a year, but they have broken up due to Antoine's passiveness towards his mother. Despite their split, Antoine still has feelings for Annabelle, who now has a new boyfriend. Upon learning this, Antoine cheers himself up by drinking alcohol during his work hours and behaves in an erratic manner. When Phillipe urges Antoine to take courage and be assertive
Assertiveness
Assertiveness is a particular mode of communication. Dorland's Medical Dictionary defines assertiveness as:During the second half of the 20th century, assertiveness was increasingly singled out as a behavioral skill taught by many personal development experts, behavior therapists, and cognitive...
, Antoine finally confesses to his mother that he loves Annabelle and is planning to move to a new place with her. Unexpectedly, his mother is happy about it – she has waited all these years for Antoine to stand up for himself. As a result, Antoine proposes to Annabelle by the bell tower when it is playing a Stevie Wonder song
I Just Called to Say I Love You
"I Just Called to Say I Love You" is a song, produced, written and performed by Stevie Wonder. It was one of Wonder's most commercially successful singles....
. Annabelle accepts, and they get married.
Three years later, Phillipe receives a transfer to move south. Accepting the offer, Phillipe and his family move south. Just as he is about to say goodbye, he is reduced to tears, proving Antoine's theory on the Ch'tis proverb ("A visitor cries twice up north: once on his arrival and once at his departure.")
Cast
- Kad MeradKad MeradKad Merad, real name Kaddour Merad, is a French-Algerian actor who has acted both on stage and on screen.-As actor:* 2001: La Grande Vie ! - le motard* 2003: Bloody Christmas - l'homme...
as Philippe Abrams, Head of the local postoffice - Dany BoonDany BoonDany Boon is a French comedian who has acted both on the stage and the screen. He takes his stage name from the television show Daniel Boone.-Life and career:...
as Antoine Bailleul, postman and carillonCarillonA carillon is a musical instrument that is typically housed in a free-standing bell tower, or the belfry of a church or other municipal building. The instrument consists of at least 23 cast bronze, cup-shaped bells, which are played serially to play a melody, or sounded together to play a chord...
performer - Zoé FélixZoé FélixZoé Félix is a French actress.-Acting career:She was discovered by an agent at the age of 17 in a bus. Two years after, she decided to contact the agent to find little acting jobs in order to pay her studies at the Beaux-Arts. She attended the Beaux-Arts for two years.-Movie:Finally she got the...
as Julie, spouse of Philippe Abrams - Lorenzo Ausilia-Foret as Raphaël Abrams
- Anne MarivinAnne MarivinAnne Marivin is a French actress, who has appeared in 20 films and 15 television productions between 1994 and 2009. She was born in Senlis, Oise....
as Annabelle Deconinck - Philippe Duquesne as Fabrice Canoli
- Guy Lecluyse as Yann Vandernoout
- Patrick Bosso as Policeman on A7
- Zinedine SoualemZinedine SoualemZinedine Soualem is an award-winning French film actor. He has appeared in at least five films directed by Cédric Klapisch.-Selected filmography:* JCVD * The Names of Love * Nothing to Declare...
as Momo - Jérôme Commandeur as Inspector Lebic
- Line RenaudLine Renaud- Early life :Line Renaud was born in Pont-de-Nieppe on 2 July 1928. Her mother Simone was a shorthand typist; her father was a truck driver during the week, but he played trumpet at the weekends, in a local brass band...
as Antoine's mother - Michel GalabruMichel GalabruMichel Louis Edmond Galabru is a French actor born on 27 October 1922 in Safi, Morocco.-Career:Over the course of his career, Galabru appeared in over 200 movies and worked with such renowned directors as Bertrand Blier, Costa-Gavras, Luc Besson , and Jean-Luc Godard...
as Julie's uncle - Stéphane FreissStéphane FreissStéphane Freiss is a French actor.-Selected filmography:* The King's Whore * Crime Spree * Monsieur N. * 5x2 * Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis -External links:...
as Jean - Alexandre Carrière as Tony
- Jenny Clève as The old lady who sings the P'tit quinquinP'tit quinquin"P'tit quinquin" is a song by Alexandre Desrousseaux which was written in 1853 in Picard language. Picard language is closely related to French, and is spoken in two regions in the north of France – Nord-Pas-de-Calais and in parts of the Belgian region Wallonia.This simple lullaby marks the...
(Northern French hymn) - Fred Personne as M. Vasseur
- Christophe Rossignon
- Guillaume Morand
Awards and nominations
- César AwardCésar AwardThe César Award is the national film award of France, first given out in 1975. The nominations are selected by the members of the Académie des arts et techniques du cinéma....
s (France)- Nominated: Best Writing – Original (Maxime Quoilin)
- European Film Awards
- Nominated: Audience Award—Best Film
Adaptation
On 20 May 2008, it was announced that Dany BoonDany Boon
Dany Boon is a French comedian who has acted both on the stage and the screen. He takes his stage name from the television show Daniel Boone.-Life and career:...
was in the process of signing a deal with Will Smith
Will Smith
Willard Christopher "Will" Smith, Jr. , also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor, producer, and rapper. He has enjoyed success in television, film and music. In April 2007, Newsweek called him the most powerful actor in Hollywood...
to make an English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
adaptation of the film. This new film will be called Welcome to the Sticks. At the moment it is not clear who the actors will be or what will be the exact nature of the plot, but there have been hints that part of the story will revolve around a multinational company.
An Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
adaptation, Benvenuti al Sud
Benvenuti al Sud
Benvenuti al Sud is an Italian adaption of French comedy film Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis directed by Luca Miniero. The plot is similar to the original version: the manager of a postal service in northern Italy, near Milan, is banished for two years in southern Italy, in Castellabate, a town near...
, has been produced and released by Medusa Film in 2010. The plot is similar to the original version: the manager (Claudio Bisio) of a postal service near Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, in northern Italy, is banished for two years in Castellabate
Castellabate
Castellabate is a town and comune in the province of Salerno in the Campania region of south-western Italy.-History:The are was inhabited since Upper Palaeolithic times...
, a town near Salerno
Salerno
Salerno is a city and comune in Campania and is the capital of the province of the same name. It is located on the Gulf of Salerno on the Tyrrhenian Sea....
, in southern Italy. Dany Boon appears in a cameo.