Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis

(France, 2008, 104 minutes)

A post office head is so desperate to be transferred to the South of France that he ends up being posted to the remote North and must face his own prejudices when the locals aren't as rustic as he'd thought. Classic fish-out-of-water comedy whose genial performances and warm humour somewhat improbably turned it into a box-office record-breaker in its native France; though unlikely to repeat the performance elsewhere, it's an amiable, entertaining enterprise.

A Pathé release. Claude Berri and Jérôme Seydoux present a Hirsch/Pathé/TF1 Films Production/Les Productions du Ch'timi / CRRAV Nord-Pas-de-Calais production, with the participation of Région Nord-Pas-de-Calais, Canal Plus and Centre National de la Cinématographie, with the support of Cinécinéma and Banque Populaire Images 8. Starring Kad Merad, Dany Boon, Zoe Felix, Anne Marivin, Philippe Duquesne, Guy Lecluyse, Patrick Bosso; with the participation of Michel Galabru, Stéphane Freiss; with the special participation of Zinedine Soualem; and with Line Renaud. Directed by Dany Boon; screenplay by Dany Boon, Franck Magnier, Alexandre Charlot, based on a story by Dany Boon, with the collaboration of Yaël Boon; music by Philippe Rombi; director of photography (Eclair, Panavision), Pierre Aïm; production designer, Alain Vassier; costume designer, Florence Sadaune; film editors, Luc Barnier, Julie Delord.