Product Details

• Actors: Gilbert Melki, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Sabrina Seyvecou, Romain Torres, Jean-Marc Barr
• Directors: Jacques Martineau, Olivier Ducastel
• Writers: Jacques Martineau, Olivier Ducastel
• Producers: Nicolas Blanc, Robert Guédiguian
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Letterboxed, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: French
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Strand Releasing
• DVD Release Date: February 7, 2006
• Run Time: 96 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000C8STG2
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #102,127 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Cote D'Azur" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Studio: Strand Releasing Release Date: 04/06/2006

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "Let nature have its way.", May 25, 2006

By 

M. J Leonard "MikeonAlpha" (Silver Lake, Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Cote D'Azur (DVD)

Oh those French, they love their food, wine and sex. Cote d'Azur is all about how they enjoy the pleasures of life; it's a sweet-natured erotic comedy, a somewhat silly but enjoyable French sex farce made with collaboration of writer-directors Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau.

Ensconced at the family place on the Mediterranean and bracing for relaxation, Beatrix (a fabulous Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi) decides, that her son Charly (Romain Torres), and his friend Martin (Edouard Collin) are gay. Beatrix prides her self on being ultra-tolerant, so her reaction is not one of distress, but relief.

Her husband Marc (Gilbert Melki) doesn't want to believe her. He's more concerned with the fact that he's been disinherited from a distant aunt, although he does stew virtuously and drops inopportune warnings about AIDS to the two boys and the dinner table.

Charly, however, severely denies his parents accusations, while Martin is out and proud, intent to cruise the beachside cliffs at night. Meanwhile, Beatrix is having an affair with her lover Mathieu (Jacques Bonnaffe), who has the disconcerting habit ringing her on her cell phone at all hours of the night and of popping out naked from bushes naked.

And then there's Didier, a hunky plumber (Jean-Marc Barr), who takes a liking to Charly, yet also hides a secret love. Marc gets turned on when he spies Martin pleasuring himself in the shower. Marc and Beatrix are an indeed an odd couple who somehow make it work.

Much of the drama comes from whether there will be enough hot water for everyone to take a shower and it isn't long before almost everyone's doing it, or trying to do it with each other. 'Côte d'Azur heaps on the ludicrous misunderstandings to a breaking point, and just when you think it couldn't get any more absurd, there's a perky little musical number sung by Marc and Beatrix to the two boys on a rainy day.

The movie is sexy without really being that sexy - a little more nudity and bawdiness would probably have made the proceedings a little more fun. Admittedly, the talk is sexually frank but without being the least bit dangerous, or even titillating. And although infidelities and betrayals are the name of the game, no one actually gets hurt, no matter how indecorous the disclosure.

The performances are generally fun, and the scenery is absolutely stunning, but the tacky musical number at the end of the film leaves a lot to be desired, and the script often lacks the biting wit than one should expect from this kind of film. In one scene Beatrix says: ''Let's just say I find the situation a little tacky," I suppose you could say that in once sense, she's quite right! Mike Leonard May 06.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars French Fluff Farce Surveys Pansexuality, June 4, 2006

By 

Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Cote D'Azur (DVD)

The French have always been able to take issues involving sexuality, fidelity, relationships, and youth and create a healthy fun discussion: Hollywood still has problems even approaching these subjects, much less allowing itself to be lighthearted and universal. 'Crustaces et coquillages' (COTE D'AZUR) is a little French film that addresses these subjects in a manner so light and fun that the viewer wonders what all the puritanical fuss is about!

It is summer on the Cote d'Azur and a fun couple Marc (Gilbert Melki) and Béatrix (Valeria Bruni Tedeschi) are vacationing in a wonderful beach house with their teenage kids Charly (Romain Torres) and Laura (Sabrina Seyvecou) where Marc lived as a youth. Laura immediately takes off to Portugal with her biker boyfriend and Charly spends his days with his friend Martin (Edouard Collin), an openly gay teenager who is in love with Charly. Beatrix observes the boys' interactions and decides her son is gay, a fact that doesn't bother her at all but that seems to cause problems for Marc. Béatrix's lover Mathieu arrives on the scene, declaring his desire for Beatrix to leave Marc: Beatrix isn't so sure - she loves Marc and her family, but also wants her summer lover.

In a series of hilarious shower sequences Charly pleasures himself, and indeed the entire crew in the house does the same, and Martin's advances to Charly are rebuffed forcing Martin to seek outlet at the beach's notorious fort section. Marc decides to thwart Charly's excessive 'use' of the shower and unplugs the hot water. Charly calls a plumber Didier (Jean-Marc Barr), who just happens to be the hunky ex-lover of Marc, having had a gay affair before Marc married Beatrix. In following each other around, Charly discovers Martin and Didier and then Marc and Didier en flagrant and then walks in on Beatrix and Mathieu: everyone's secret is out! But instead of a disaster, the cast suddenly breaks into a silly showbiz musical number blaming all the infidelities and facets of love on the `violets' (the aphrodisiac of oysters!). It is a cuckoo ending and would have been a better film without it, but the acting is all so rich and fine and the story is so well told, that this little diversion can be excused. This is a fun fling, with a superb cast having a good time (especially the extraordinarily gifted Valeria Bruni Tedeschi). The story makes us laugh and think - all in a setting that is like a dream vacation! Enjoy and have fun! Grady Harp, June 06

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars review of Cote d'Azure, November 17, 2009

By 

Paul Kao (Sacramento, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Cote D'Azur (DVD)

Did you know that the President of France is Nikolas Sarkozy? Did you know that during the recent (2008) election, he divorced his wife and then married a singer, Carla Bruni, who'd been the lover of several famous rock stars? Did you know that Sarkozy is on the right of the political spectrum, but Carla is a socialist? Did you know that what would be a scandal in the U.S. may have helped Sarkozy get elected and that Carla helps keep Sarkozy popular (sort of)? Well, Carla's sister is Valeria Bruno-Tedeschi, and she's in this film. Valeria also sings in this film and has a few nude scenes.

The film concerns a family who take their annual vacation at their house on the Cote d'Azur. One summer, we learn the wife (Valeria) has a lover, the husband and their son are gay, and the daughter has a biker as a lover.