If you only see one French film this year.....

You should definitely try to see Bienvenue Chez les Ch'tis (Welcome to the Sticks). This comedy from Dany Boon has broken box office records in France and looks set to beat Titanic as the most successful film ever released in France.

In a nutshell, the story is about a post office worker living in the south who has an unhappy wife. He is punished by the post office for trying to con his way to a job on the Med to cheer his wife up, and is sent to rainy northern France instead. The place is considered to be the 'sticks' and is filled with 'ch'tis' which is slang for someone from northern France; the equivalent of 'yokel'.

He soon grows to love the place and the people, but reports back to his wife, who has stayed behind in the south with their son, that he is miserable and that the people there are truly barbarians.

She finally decides to visit, just to cheer him up. He doesn't want her to know he's lied about how much fun he's been having, so he asks all of his new friends to behave like true yokels to drive her back down south. They oblige and set out to show her the worst weekend she's ever had.

It looks like the film might be taken to Hollywood where it's rumored that Will Smith will produce an American version. That should be interesting......