Purely Coincidental

A handful of student revolutionaries from the Seventies meet up 30 years later to plan a robbery. This is not entirely correct, because they are friends, anyway, and always have been. They play cards together and go to each others’ birthday parties, have wives and children and probably mortgages. Romain Goupil’s film appears to be a throwback to the experimental days of cinema verite. Either that or it’s a home movie, shot with a video camera, to an improvised script or no script at all.

Directed by Romain Goupil, Purely Coincidental leans on a strong ensemble — Alain Cyroulnik, Romain Goupil, Olivier Martin — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about comedy titles of 2002.