Isabelle Adjani is the safe-cracking matriarch and Karim Leklou is her son who longs for a Mr Freeze franchise and a quiet life in this Cannes hit, a rollercoaster crime caper from writer-director Romain Gavras.
A French gangster comedy that zips along with all the bright, bouncy energy of a live-action Looney Tunes cartoon.
Screened as part of NZIFF 2018
The World Is Yours 2018
Le monde est à toi
Louche and charming in a distinctly Gallic fashion, this star-studded, action-packed gangster comedy pits a criminal matriarch (scary Isabelle Adjani) against her peace-loving son (Karim Leklou) who dreams of setting up a Mr. Freeze franchise in the Maghreb. Unfortunately, Mama has squandered the money he needed to secure the deal, so it’s time to head to the Costa Brava for that one last dope consignment that will put him in the clear.
The loose-cannon team accompanying him on the trip includes Henry (Vincent Cassel), a garrulous Illuminati obsessive who sees triangles everywhere, and a gold-digging beauty (Oulaya Amamra), whose loyalty seems highly negotiable.
“A hyper-stylish and unexpectedly sweet rebuke to the idea that screwing people is a good way to get ahead, [Romain] Gavras’ second feature manages the almost impossible task of mining something nice from the me-first mentality that’s been sweeping across modern Europe. It’s Sexy Beast, Spring Breakers, and Little Miss Sunshine all blended together and served with a lad-rock swagger; it’s the best movie that Guy Ritchie never made…
The World Is Yours somehow comes to involve a Scottish drug lord, his tormented young daughter, a Jewish lawyer, a group of 20 bleached-blond Zairian guys, a karaoke singalong of Toto’s ‘Africa’, and a live grenade in a Hello Kitty backpack. This strange potpourri is strung together on the strength of André Chémétoff’s glossy cinematography and a bouncy score by Jamie XX and Sebastian… It helps that every single one of the performances is extraordinary.” — David Erhlich, Indiewire