Jack Mimoun and the secrets of Val Verde

"I closed my eyes trying to remember what made me dream when I was young. There I saw myself building a tree house, searching for treasure, borrowing one of my father's paintbrushes and pretending to dust bones like an archaeologist. I then realized that this kind of adventure film was no longer being made in France. There are great social films, wonderful family comedies, but we don't dare to go into what made my generation tick: adventure... I grew up with E.T, Back to the Future or Indiana Jones. I wanted to get involved in a project that would make kids want to dive into the quest for hidden treasure!" - Malik Bentalha

Before discovering Jack Mimoun and the secrets of Val Verde, we had some preconceived ideas and the impression that this film, sold as a great adventure film, was in truth only a new popular French comedy with a scenario that was not very interesting and with scenes that were cruelly lacking in bite. The director Ludovic Colbeau-Justin didn't impress us in the past with his previous films like C'est tout pour moi (co-directed with Nawell Madani) (2017) and Le lion (2020) or his productions for TF1. However, we must recognize that the first co-direction of Malik Bentalha who also participated in writing the script makes all the difference and brings to the film a real freshness. In the same way, the main quartet of the film Malik Bentalha, François Damiens, Jérôme Commandeur and the superb Joséphine Japy works marvelously and makes us spend an excellent moment of cinema by a real alchemy between them.

By discovering Jack Mimoun and the secrets of Val Verde it is impossible not to remember these great American adventure films of the 80s that it is the cinematographic saga Indiana Jones (of which several elements of the moment as the scene of the hat and that of the bridge are real tributes), In pursuit of the green diamond (Romancing the Stone) (1984), Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017) but also French films such as The Man from Rio (1964) and more recently OSS 117, Cairo Nest of Spies (the fact that Egypt is mentioned is not a coincidence). 

The screenwriters Malik Bentalha, Florent Bernard and Tristan Schulmann show that they have totally assimilated the basics necessary to give life to a great adventure film by taking inspiration from American cinema but above all they have brought an important French touch to make Jack Mimoun and the Secrets of Val Verde the perfect example of the French adventure film. This great care taken in the elaboration of the film can also be felt in the numerous natural and reconstructed studio settings that give the film an undeniable cachet. However, this film is not only a tribute to the great adventure films, it is also a comedy and the trio of comedians Malik Bentalha, François Damiens and Jérôme Commandeur work wonderfully and make us laugh very often, which has not happened to us often in the cinema lately.

The tempo of the film is perfect in the sense that there is no dead time and that a gripping plot is built up as we go along. We discover Jack Mimoun (Malik Bentalha) who had a long wandering at sea before being taken in by a liner. He became a real TV celebrity by playing an adventurer ready to do anything to defy nature and make a name for himself. He is also famous for being the only human to survive on the island of Val Verde, which was the source of a novel he wrote that became a bestseller. While on the set of one of his shows, he is approached by Aurélie Diaz (Joséphine Japy) who needs him to follow in the footsteps of her father who disappeared several years ago on this island. Jack Mimoun embarks with his manager Bruno Quézac (Jérome Commandeur, perfect as in each of his films) and Aurélie Diaz in the helicopter of a mercenary Jean-Marc Bastos (François Damiens, a sure bet for comedy) but things will not go as planned and these four people will find themselves in dangerous situations. Jack Mimoun and the Secrets of Val Verde finally succeeds in showing that it is still possible in France to make films capable of standing up to American blockbusters and above all to impress us with captivating scenes.

Jack Mimoun and the Secrets of Val Verde shows a real maturity of the actor Malik Bentalha, in his choices of direction and also the image of a great lover of cinema who has brought his personal touch to the development of his first film. Known for having played in many popular comedies such as La vache (2016), Taxi 5 (2018) and more recently the comedy doomed to become cult Irreductible (2022) by Jérôme Commandeur, Malik Bentalha appropriates with real ease the role of a manipulative adventurer who really becomes one by making his courage speak and especially by wanting to impress the character played to perfection by Josephine Japy (Mon inconnue (2019), Eugénie Grandet (2020). While the French poplaire cinema tends to play it safe and not take any real risk, the two directors Malik Bentalha and Ludovic Colbeau-Justin take the bet to offer a great adventure film as we rarely see in the cinema and especially succeed in making this film a great family entertainment able to move the spectators to the cinema and especially to make us forget the current sad times.

Jack Mimoun and the Secrets of Val Verde is definitely one of the must-see films of October. It will be released in France on October 12th. We can only advise you to reserve your seat now. For my part, I will go back to see it on Sunday, October 9th (the team of the film coming to present this film in my favorite cinema).

Jack Mimoun and the secrets of Val Verde
Directed by Malik Bentalha, Ludovic Colbeau-Justin
Produced by Éric and Nicolas Altmayer
Written by Malik Bentalha, Florent Bernard, Tristan Schulmann
Starring Malik Bentalha, Benoît Magimel, François Damiens, Jérôme Commandeur, Joséphine Japy 
Music by Mathieu Lamboley
Cinematography : Thomas Lerebour
Edited by Delphine Rondeau, Vincent Tabaillon
Production companies : Mandarin Films, Pathé Films
Distributed by Pathé Distribution (France)
Release date : August 27, 2022 (festival of Angoulême), October 12, 2022 (France)
Running time : 102 minutes

Seen on September 30, 2022 at Gaumont Disney Village, Room 15 seat A19

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