Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis (Welcome to the Sticks)

With a partner who is learning French for fun, I am getting to watch quite a few French movies. Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis (Welcome to the Sticks) is a comedy movie that uses the preconceived notions of people of different regions for its jokes. Philippe works for the French postal service and is living a comfortable life with his wife and kid in a sunny Southern France town. His rosy life is rocked when he is transferred to a town in Northern France. The Southerners believe that this place is supposedly unwelcoming and cold and its inhabitants, called the Ch’tis, are uncivilized. As Philippe heads on his depressing assignment, his family chooses to stay behind. To his surprise, Philippe discovers that the Ch’tis are warm and he falls in love with the place and the people. But, on his weekly visits back home he paints a sorry picture of the North, in a bid to extract sympathy and love from his wife. He is in for a shock when his wife decides to pay him a visit.

Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis is a simple and fun movie. Though there is nothing exceptional about it, it is hard to go wrong with this movie if you are tired or stressful.