Karl Self What is it with people and culture-clash-comedies these days? Maybe it's that they offer respite from an almost tyrannical political correctness and allow us to remember the olden days, when it was still okay to point fingers, throw stones and stereotype. When you were allowed to have a good old chuckle at some minority's expense. The effete, fat kid in class, is all I'm saying. And don't act as if you don't know what I mean. So maybe it meant years of therapy to him, but also oodles of fun to everybody else. Or maybe it's that those minorities of cult-clash-coms always live in an enviably solid microcosmos. Maybe we long for a bit more structure these days. Otherwise, I can't explain why this pretty slight film is so popular. It's about a Portugese couple who have eked out a living for thirty years in Paris doing menial jobs -- as a concierge and a builder respectively. When they inherit and get the chance to return to the "homeland" everyone around them is trying to sabotage their plans by making them feel extra welcome and valued. Actually, that's a pretty good plot. Only the comedy is so sanitized and anti-anarchic, the drama is so construed, the people are so well-adjusted, good-looking and nice, that any attempt at humour is nipped in the bud. The filthy rich owner is trying to woo his ageing bricklayer, rather than throw him out on the street and replace him with the next minion? Wouldn't that be nice! But it's not funny. To be funny, you have to be mucho mean, and you can't have a go at the Nobel Peace Price at the same time.

jrgcarneiro I lived in France then got back to Portugal. I know many emigrants and many French people. Many different kind of each. And I can say that I saw almost all of them in the movie, and that's amazing. For most of the people, the movie is very good, for Portuguese people, it is fantastic, but for Portuguese emigrants (or former) in France, it is really over the top! Congratulation Ruben Alves, tu contastes une histoire comme deve ser, caraille! ;) There is small details that could have been handled better. Lourdes and Maria have a different level of french (strange for sisters, considering that Lourdes speaks perfect french). It would have been better if José had a bit more of Portuguese accent. Another detail, since they are from the north (Douro, use of B instead of V), Fado doesn't have much (not to say nothing) to do with it. They should be listening Rancho, and eventually Pimba music that is far more popular.

joandasilou Without telling the story of the first movie of the film director Ruben Alves, "La cage dorée" is a comedy that deals with relations between immigrants and French; employers and employees, parents and children; neighbors; lovers and close family in a small community in central Paris. The film is a feel good comedy and touches the heart by the beautiful, funny and smart dialogues, the perfect interpretation of French and Portuguese actors, first and second roles, and a discrete and sensitive mise en scene. It is not necessary to be French or Portuguese to be moved by the issues and personal choices of the main characters, just have some feelings.

Horst in Translation ([email protected]) This quote can be applied to lots of things. Your good health. The love of your life. Or losing your index finger in a freak accident. It also fits Ruben Alves' first directorial feature. Headlined by veteran actors Rita Blanco and Joaquim de Almeida, the film is one of the year's biggest sleeper hits in France and, so far, the most successful movie of the year in Portugal.All in all, it fulfilled my expectations. I never had a 'wow' moment, but it's easy to see how it attracts audiences en masse. It's a well-executed non-offensive comedy with the right amount of drama to make it accessible and enjoyable for viewers from all age-groups. The serious moments mostly arise from the family members' inner conflict of being forced to choose between their Portuguese roots and their home away from home in France.I felt Alves did a convincing job early on exploring the characters and depicting how every Ribeiro found his very own way of adapting to life in France without neglecting their Portuguese origins. When everybody finds out about the family possibly leaving and tries to do their best to keep them and their workforce, it becomes a bit messy though. Especially the revenge acts of the heads of the family feel out of place. We need to remember that the old lady with her divine flowers and Monsieur Cailaux have been close with the Ribeiros for decades and they knew their actions would hurt them a lot financially and emotionally. Their children hooking up also seemed like nothing more than a happy coincidence. The feelings are real and happened before the start of the movie, long before the vineyard. Strangely enough, the only person who would have deserved a tongue-lashing, Maria's sister, whose curiosity triggered the whole tohubohu, and came up with, by far, the most vile fantasy, got off very lightly.What was excellent, however, again was the way the movie ended. The director got himself in a position where I thought 75 minutes into the film, no way he can find a way to end this on a high note that makes the audience leave the cinema with a smile. But he did. I wouldn't say "La cage dorée" (The Gilded Cage) is a must-see, but if you're into family comedies, if French or Portuguese films are your cup of Marriage Frères or you're simply always on the lookout for films that broaden your horizon when it comes to foreign cultures, it's definitely worth checking out. Bon Noite!