Man's Best Friend

This is a light comedy about Amir, a young Pakistani who has been working for Jo for six years. Jo has a ready-to-wear clothes shop in the Sentier area and his business is prospering. He promised Amir that he would help him get his legal papers, but he has never kept his promise. Now he is sending Amir to his colleague Ralph in exchange for an unpaid debt from a card game. He thinks that this is a good opportunity to get rid of the illegal worker. Ralph is a fifty-year-old baby who keeps forgetting his appointments, his bank balance, and everything else that he should remember to run his life smoothly. His business is a complete disaster. A year later, Ralph's business has picked up, but Joe's is going down the drain. Thanks to whom? It is easy to answer this question if one follows Amir during his daily chores in the shop. But neither Jo nor Ralph's bother to take the time off to notice the hard work of this poor employee.

Directed by Philippe Galland, Man's Best Friend leans on a strong ensemble — Yolande Moreau, Geno Lechner, Atmen Kelif — 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 1999.