''Riens du tout'' (English: ''Little Nothings'') is a 1992 French film directed by

Cédric Klapisch Cédric Klapisch ( ; born 4 September 1961) is a French film director, screenwriter and producer. Life and career Klapisch was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine. He is from a Jewish family; his maternal grandparents were deported to Aus ...

and written by him with Jackie Berroyer. Featuring Fabrice Luchini and an ensemble cast, in many often humorous cameos it explores the effects on the staff of a revival plan for a failing department store in Paris.

Plot

After 100 years, the Grandes Galeries department store in Paris is sinking: staff are listless, customers staying away, and profits vanishing. The board hire Mr Lepetit, giving him one year to turn it round or else it will close. They are in talks with Japanese investors who want the site for a luxury hotel. His plan starts with the staff who, he argues, need to believe in themselves, believe in each other, and transmit that belief to customers. A huge programme of activities commences, to build up the individuals and build a team spirit. Human nature being what it is, and the French being who they are, there are difficulties and there are failures. Overall, by the end of the year the remaining staff are well motivated, the store is well thought of, and profits have boomed. The board thank Lepetit, sack him, and close the store down. His efforts, and those of all the staff who believed in him, have doubled the price the Japanese are willing to pay.

Cast

* Fabrice Luchini as Lepetit *

Daniel Berlioux Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength"), ...

as Jacques Martin * Marc Berman as Pizzuti *

Olivier Broche Olivier Broche (born 18 December 1963) is a French actor and producer. He is best known for playing in the cult TV series ''Les Deschiens ''Les Deschiens'' is a French-language comedy television series. It was broadcast from 1993 to 2002 on Can ...

as Lefèvre *

Antoine Chappey Antoine Chappey (born 1960) is a French actor. He has appeared in over 80 films and television shows since 1989. He starred in the film ''Nelly'', which was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. Selected fi ...

as François * Jean-Pierre Darroussin as Domrémy *

Aurélie Guichard Aurélie (or its variants Aurelie or Aurelia) is a feminine name primarily occurring in France, deriving from the Latin Aurelius (golden) family. The masculine forms are Aurèle and Aurélien. The name was historically popular in France, and is cu ...

as Vanessa *

Billy Komg Billy may refer to: * Billy (name), a name (and list of people with the name) Animals * Billy (dog), a dog breed * Billy (pigeon), awarded the Dickin Medal in 1945 * Billy (pygmy hippo), a pet of U.S. President Calvin Coolidge * Billy, a young ...

as Mamadou * Odette Laure as Madame Yvonne *

Elisabeth Macocco Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

as Madame Dujardin *

Marc Maury Marc or MARC may refer to: People * Marc (given name), people with the first name * Marc (surname), people with the family name Acronyms * MARC standards, a data format used for library cataloging, * MARC Train, a regional commuter rail system of ...

as Johnny Bonjour * Pierre-Olivier Mornas as Roger * Jean-Michel Martial as Hubert *

Maïté Nahyr Maïté Nahyr (25 October 1947 – 19 August 2012) was a Belgian actress. Nahyr was born in Belgium on Saturday, 25 October 1947. She was raised in Belgium but reportedly was of South American ( Paraguayan) descent. She built her professional car ...

as La directrice de coordination * Fred Personne as Monsieur Roi *

Lucette Raillat Lucette may refer to: * ''Lucette'', a schooner attacked by killer whales People with the given name *Lucette Aldous (1938–2021), Australian ballet dancer and ballet teacher *Lucette Finas (born 1921), French author and essayist, part of the s ...

as Micheline *

Eric Forterre The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ai ...

as Fred *

Nathalie Richard Nathalie Richard (born 6 January 1963) is a French actress. Richard was born in Paris, France. She received the Prix Michel Simon film prize for most promising actress/actor for her role in the 1988 Jacques Rivette film ''Gang of Four''. ...

as Claire *

Marie Riva Marie may refer to: People Name * Marie (given name) * Marie (Japanese given name) * Marie (murder victim), girl who was killed in Florida after being pushed in front of a moving vehicle in 1973 * Marie (died 1759), an enslaved Cree person in T ...

as Zaza *

Sophie Simon Sophie is a version of the female given name Sophia, meaning "wise". People with the name Born in the Middle Ages * Sophie, Countess of Bar (c. 1004 or 1018–1093), sovereign Countess of Bar and lady of Mousson * Sophie of Thuringia, Duchess of ...

as Pat *

Zinedine Soualem Zinedine Soualem (born 17 April 1957) is a French actor. He has appeared in at least five films directed by Cédric Klapisch. Personal life Soualem is Algerian by ancestry, and was at one point married to the actress Hiam Abbass. They have ...

as Aziz *

Marina Tomé A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or ...

as Monitrice sourire * Karin Viard as Isabelle * Coraly Zahonero as Véronique * Simon Abkarian as Le danseur grec * Olivier Rabourdin as Chanteur métro

About the film

In this first film Klapisch's main purpose was to show the difference between the behavior of a person when he is alone and when he is in a group. In order to show this, he filmed the employees during their commute, at work and in other scenes of daily life, which made Klapisch style's reputation. This topic will become recurrent in many of his films.

References

External links

* 1992 films 1992 comedy films Films directed by Cédric Klapisch Films set in Paris French comedy films 1990s French-language films 1990s French films {{1990s-France-film-stub