CheerupSilver Very Cool!!!

SnoReptilePlenty Memorable, crazy movie

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Caryl It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

jketelone I am left on the fence with this movie. At first you begin to understand the lives of these brothers through the eyes of a friend. There are 3 stories happening in this movie however it fails to develop the characters further once the 3rd brother is introduced. The last scene with the entire family. In the background you see the father (in keeping with his character is in the back, weak with no control). You see Christophe with his girlfriend, showcasing affection (makes sense since he has straightened out his life). Marc in the foreground (still showcasing his masculinity and toughness).I was perplexed by the ending scene. You see Olivier and Hachlm "in love" but at the end Hachlm is dumped so that Olivier can have a rendezvous with the flight instructor. I didn't understand why Olivier's plot-line/story was very short and abruptly ended. I understand Haclim helped Olivier with expressing his sexual freedom however, this could have been done better. I really felt disconnected from Olivier because of the last scene. Did we really need to know he left his first love to be with the flight instructor and end the movie like that?!?!I can see where the filmmaker was trying to convey however failed to do so in further developing the uniqueness of each brother and their overall connection. So after seeing this movie, I was left with what?

Franco-LA The film does an excellent job presenting (without politics or the need for either factual exposition or excessive narrative), the socio-economic situation in France for young males with excessive energy, time and desires on their hands. The films has a number of homoerotic undertones without really being a gay film. In fact, the segment for the third brother, which would qualify as the "gay segment" is the shortest and least developed of the three. While some people have viewed each of the three segments as being about the three brothers, they are really about all three of them, clearly interconnected and with each brother (even the missing oldest in the first sequence) being "present" and playing a role.I think it would have been a far better film if they had made it about two brothers and perhaps two closest friends. It actually is about three brothers and the close friend of one (Marc) who later became a close friend and romantic partner of another brother (Oliver). Personally, I also wouldn't have made some of the choices the filmmaker makes, I would have spent the time developing some of the other threads further. That said, it's an interesting film and means that the filmmaker may make further films of note, but I can't really recommend this as anything other than a rental when other, primary, choices are not available.

Teflon_Boy Because a large majority of moviegoers expect to be simply 'entertained and made happy' by cinema it makes sense that this film would prove difficult for some audiences to digest. But I would urge anyone with a love of cinema to watch 'Le Clan' as it is a very honest portrayal of a working class family made up of characters that do not necessarily fit together in obvious ways. Though Le Clan is unbridled and overtly masculine, none of the characters are hyper-realised. Not every thought that is in their head is vocalised either and there are no forced (dare I say it, Spielberg-esquire) conclusions drawn at the end of the film. For this reason I'm sure it failed to satisfy certain viewers more used to neat resolutions in the films they watch but I have to say this is one of the reasons I loved it.The camera does indeed linger over the actors in seemingly quite exploitative ways, however I felt there was merit in this also. For example, Christophe remains clothed throughout the film except for one scene in which he is concealed by Marc and Olivier. Christophe is an open character who responds and reacts and is open enough not to require a reveal of his physique. However, Marc's abrupt and conflictingly passive aggressive nature requires that kind of adoration in order for the audience to witness the truth of him, his body and his physical beauty being more noticeable than the real him. With regards Olivier, he at first seems too young for anyone to be looking at him in that way but then he is revealed as having the body of a man, therefore demands that the audience treat him as such and as the film progresses the audience is able to.The scene where Marc is forced to kill his dog is heartbreaking as this is the one creature he loves unreservedly. Marc cannot say that of his friends, his father, his brothers or the prostitutes he visits. After this we watch him crumble eventually unable to even carry out the revenge plot he's made his goal throughout the film. Out of all the brothers Christophe represents what each of them perhaps has to look forward to, the process of being tamed, becoming a cog in the machine and taking ones place amongst the dead meat, whereas Olivier is sensitive and hard to define, both sexually and otherwise. The scene in the boathouse between Olivier and Hicham is interesting when you think of the fact that the actors had to do it for real but not so when thought of within context of the characters and their lives. While the song that bookends their relationship is so mournful and beautiful that you almost feel the foreboding fleetingness of their love as you view it.As an observer you feel as though the characters have gotten under your skin and by the end of the film whether watching as the impotent father or as the adoring Hicham you're not sure which one of the brothers out of Marc, Christophe or Olivier you care for most as neither is totally defined by what they do. I have to say I felt a strong connection to this film for reasons I can't quite pinpoint and that is why I recommend 'Le Clan'. It is a haunting and beautiful film that stays with you long after you have viewed it.

Linc Madison (LincMad) Le Clan (3 Slaves Dancing) is a relentlessly bleak, dreary film, showing us the despair and grayness of the characters' lives without any hint at redemption. The considerable violence in the film (a couple of scenes are definitely not for those squeamish about blood or animal cruelty) underlines the darkness they inhabit, but gives us no insight into how they cope with it, much less how they might hope to emerge from it. The actors turned in fine performances, and the film has moments of visual beauty, but the story lacks an upside. The characters' lives progress from lousy to terrible as they turn away from any form of hope. I liked À Toute Vitesse (Full Speed), also by Gaël Morel, and I look forward to better work from the director and the cast in the future, but I recommend giving this one a miss.