Last December, Rebecca Atkinson wrote in the Guardian of a boycott of La Famille Bélier in protest at its casting of “hearing actors to play the roles of deaf characters, the result of which is an embarrassing and crass interpretation of deaf culture and sign language”. In the wake of Miroslav Slaboshpitsky’s grim but authentic The Tribe, such a response is understandable, although Eric Lartigau’s frothy comedy about the teenage daughter of deaf parents finding her singing voice has proved a feelgood hit in France, with Louane Emera picking up a César for most promising actress. As Paula, Emera is indeed a winning presence, and it would take a hard heart not to be moved by her rendition of Michel Sardou’s Je Vole, or to appreciate Lartigau’s attempts to convey the musical connection she makes with her parents despite their initial dismay. “Being deaf isn’t a handicap, it’s an identity,” says Paula’s father Rodolphe (François Damiens), a farmer who decides to run for mayor under the campaign slogan “I hear you”, and whose feisty relationship with Karin Viard’s Gigi provides much bawdy comedy. A US remake is, inevitably, in the pipeline.
Mark Kermode,The Guardian, 13 September 2015
A crowd-pleasing hit in its native France, La Famille Belier is built on a high, probably Hollywood-bound concept: talented teenage country girl Paula (Emera) dreams of becoming a big-time singer, the twist being that she is the only hearing member of a deaf farming family. It’s broad, predictable, surprisingly bawdy for a family-friendly comedy (Paula has to explain her parents’ sex life to a gynaecologist) and borderline insensitive (Dad wants to run for mayor with the slogan “I hear ya!”). For all that, it emerges as good-hearted. Viard and Damiens make likable parents but the César-winning Emera, a semi-finalist on France’s The Voice, adds a touching centre as the awkward teen who grows in stature. It’s a hard heart that doesn’t melt when Paula figures out how to share her gift with her family.
Ian Freer, Empire, 4 November 2015.
What is F-Rated?
The F-Rating is applied to all films which are:
- Directed by women
- Written by women
- Has one or more significant women on screen
If it qualifies with one of the above it gets the Bronze rating.
If it qualifies with two of the above it gets the Silver rating.
If it qualifies with all three of the above it gets the Gold rating.