Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Little Nothings Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 14, 2020

If the 1986 Ron Howard — Michael Keaton comedy Gung Ho were to be remade in a way with a bunch of French executives as seen in Little Nothings taking over an American department store instead of an automotive plant, the result might have been better titled Laissez Faire, at least as evidenced by some of the behaviors and attitudes on display in this film. There’s no actual international dynamic at play here, though, as Little Nothings is centered in Paris with French characters, though some of the issues the film deals with are certainly “universal”. This appealingly chaotic comedy from director Cédric Klapisch (who also co-wrote with Jackie Berroyer) offers Fabrice Luchini as the not very subtly named Lepetit, who, despite the “size” of his name, has big ideas about how to reinvigorate a once popular department store called Les Grandes Galeries. Stuffed (perhaps overstuffed) with a glut of eccentric supporting characters, Little Nothing may remind some of a French version of the venerable British sitcom Are You Being Served?, as it documents the interwoven stories of people either working or shopping at Les Grandes Galeries.

What might initially seem as a veritable grab bag of random vignettes involving various people in Paris actually turns out to be introductions, more or less, to a gaggle of characters who will soon assemble at Les Grandes Galeries. The film makes some fitful attempts at actual character development, but part of what may keep Little Nothings from completely resonating either comedically or in more bittersweet dramatic moments is the sheer number of characters Klapisch and Berroyer have stuffed into the proceedings. The basic setup here is simplicity itself, with Les Grandes Galeries close to going out of business, and Lepetit attempting to get it back on track by engaging the staff in "team building" exercises. It's frankly the stuff of an episode of Are You Being Served?, not to mention latter day efforts like The Office, but that said there's an agreeable amount of wry humor if not consistent laugh out loud hilarity that results. The film's late stab at some heart wrenching material is a bit sentimental, but will probably hit home for some viewers.

Little Nothings Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Little Nothings is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video's Arrow Academy imprint with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Arrow's insert booklet contains the following pretty generic verbiage on the transfer:

Little Nothings / Riens du tout is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with Dolby Stereo audio. The high definition master was produced and supplied for this release by MK2.

Most of the MK2 material that has been released by Arrow and others has frequently tended to look good in general, and that's the case again here. There are some clarity fluctuations, especially vis a vis some of the "on the fly" location photography caught out and about (notably some of the "commuter" material early in the film) and ostensibly more controlled environments within the department store. The palette looks nicely vibrant a lot of the time, with some especially prevalent blues that offer considerable pop. Fine detail is typically very good to excellent, and potentially tricky issues like peg board endcaps in the store resolve without any issues whatsoever. Grain can be just slightly variable looking at times, but generally resolves naturally.

Little Nothings Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Little Nothings features a nicely rendered LPCM 2.0 track in the original French. As Klapisch gets into in the (more or less) "making of" featurette listed below in the supplements section, the creative team spent a lot of time massaging the mix in what were then the early days of Dolby Audio. The result is a bit cacophonous at times, with an almost Howard Hawksian approach to overlapping elements in the crowd scenes both in outdoor urban environments and within the confines of the department store itself. More traditional dialogue sequences offer arguably a bit more clarity, in that individual lines can be discerned, but there's really nothing to warrant any major concern here in any case. Optional English subtitles are available.

Little Nothings Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• A Lesson in Cinema by Cédric Klapisch and Jackie Berroyer (Leçon de Cinéma de Cédric Klapisch et Jackie Berroyer) (1080i; 52:00) is a documentary profiling the duo and the production of the film. Klapisch in particular gets into some of the nuts and bolts of the production, including some kind of interesting comments on what was then the nascent "new technology" of Dolby audio. In French with English subtitles.


• What Moves Me (Ce qui me meut) (1080i; 22:16) is a 1989 short film by Cedric Klapisch about 19th century photography and cinema pioneer Etienne- Jules Marey.

Additionally, Arrow provides their typically well appointed insert booklet.

Little Nothings Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Little Nothings' title is, as the insert booklet discusses, an obvious double entendre, referring not just to the picayune ins and outs of everyday life, but also to the ostensible proletariat cogs in the capitalist consumer wheel. The film is often quite breezy, and it can be occasionally rather funny, but it's just a bit too chaotic at times, ping ponging from vignette to vignette without any clear direction. Technical merits are generally solid, and the two on disc supplements very enjoyable. With caveats noted, Recommended.