Les Cachetonneurs

Another day, another gig. As one rehearsal ends, bass player Roberto (Lacan) is networking among his regular freelancers on the fringes of the classical music scene. The job on offer means good money, meeting in a country chateau and rehearsing with veteran Austrian conductor Svarowski (Garcin) for a private New Year's Eve concert. Roberto has five takers - among them a pregnant flautist, a kleptomaniac cellist, and an abrasive viola player - who join a nervy local clarinettist to await the the maestro's arrival. Quite why this famous baton waver should have agreed to work with such a modest ensemble, it takes a while to find out, but the group certainly needs him to stamp his authority on their conflicting personalities. This first feature makes up in authenticity what it lacks in excitement; the musical sequences are convincing, as is the depiction of the daily grind of providing light classics to anyone who'll cough up. Beyond that, however, it fights shy of delving too deep into its characters' frazzled emotions.