Max & Co.
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Max & Co |
| Original title | Max & Co |
| Country of production | Switzerland , Belgium , France , Great Britain |
| original language | French |
| Publishing year | 2007 |
| length | 76 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 6 |
| Rod | |
| Director |
Frédéric Guillaume Samuel Guillaume |
| script | Christine Dory Emmanuel Salinger |
| production | Robert Boner |
| music | Bruno Coulais |
| camera | Renato Berta |
| cut | Jacques Comets |
Max & Co. is an animated film from 2007 that was made as a co-production between Switzerland , Belgium , France and Great Britain . With production costs of more than 30 million francs (19.2 million euros ), it is the most expensive Swiss film production, but at the same time it is also the biggest flop in Swiss film history, which led to political repercussions due to government subsidies running into the millions. The film was released in French and Swiss-German dubbing .
action
The fox Max, 15 years old, comes to the small town of Saint-Hilaire in search of his father. There Max finds shelter with Mrs. Doudou, with whose help he finds a job at the local fly valve factory, Bzzz and Co. , which is the main employer in the town.
However, the factory's business is not doing very well. The current owner, Rodolfo, has inherited the company from his godfather and wants to boost sales of fly swatters at all costs. To achieve this goal, the scientist Martin developed a sinister plan.
First, the simple employees are put on the street, including Fränzi's father, who fell in love with Max. Together with Max, she finds out that the factory's new advertising campaign is just a facade to hide dark machinations. The company wants to breed flies in order to sell more fly swatters with the resulting plague of flies. Together with Fränzi, the singer Kathy and the musician Johnny, Max tries to warn the population of the town.
synchronization
| role | Original voice | Swiss German voice |
|---|---|---|
| Max | Lorànt German | Patrick Venetz |
| Fränzi | Amélie Lerma | Fabienne Hadorn |
| Sam | Sanseverino | Beat Schlatter |
| Rodolfo | Patrick Bouchitey | Gilles Tschudi |
| Kathy | Virginie Efira | Viola Tami |
| Martin | Denis Podalydès | Patrick Frey |
| Mrs. Doudou | Micheline Dax | Dodo Hug |
Reviews
Martin Walder writes in the NZZ am Sonntag that with Max & Co. a “charming, airy, little story” was created, which would also be “a socially critical fable about good old solidarity”. However, he criticizes that perhaps there is too much love “in the ideas, details, motives”, but at the same time there is a lack of “focus on the psychological core”.
Rolf Breiner on cineman.ch writes that the story is told “lovingly” and has “eco-charm, fairytale charm, interpersonal tones and musical pep”. Rolf Breiner criticizes that the film would appear “somewhat Swiss deliberate and leisurely”.
Spectator flop and financial disaster
The film turned out to be the biggest flop in Swiss film history. At 30 million francs, Max & Co is the most expensive Swiss production of all time. The film started with the same number of copies as the successful Swiss films Grounding - The Last Days of Swissair and Mein Name ist Eugen - nevertheless only around 16,000 viewers came in the first two weeks, three quarters of them in French-speaking Switzerland . His producers, however, reckoned with 110,000. Due to the lack of audience interest, the film was gradually moved to the afternoon program or removed entirely from the cinema programs.
According to a report published on August 13, 2008 by the Freiburg daily La Liberté and confirmed by the Federal Office for Culture (BAK), the two production companies have filed for bankruptcy.
The Swiss Confederation contributed a total of 5 million francs to the production costs, of which 1.5 million was provided by the Federal Office of Culture. The financial flop has thus also triggered a political aftermath, the consequences of which for the relations between French-speaking Swiss television and the BAK have yet to be clarified. The film producers have not yet wanted to comment. The BAK announced that it would meet them in the second half of August to clarify the reasons for the bankruptcies.
Web links
- Max & Co. in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- “ Fly swatter fairy tales ” , article in the NZZ am Sonntag about the film from January 20, 2008