The latest drama from Cannes Winner Belgian Filmmaker David Lambert (Beyond The Walls) is farce-like comedy that plays fast and loose with a Belgian ‘Green Card’ situation.
When silver-headed gay bear Martin (Bouli Lanners) buries his younger husband after a fatal car crash he is left with his grief and very large debts. On the verge of losing his home, his friend Norbert (Jean-Luc Couchard) a Bar Owner with a penchant for extoic girlfiends offers him a way out. Norbert has a history of marrying them so that they can stay in the country, and now he wants to do the same for his latest girlfriend Tamara (Rachel Mwanza) from the Congo. However he suspects the Authorities are on to him, so he is looking for someone to step up to the plate.
A rather grumpy Martin agrees but he insists that when Tamara moves in to his house with him that she keeps herself to herself. She however soon has him eating out of her hand and by the time they get to filing for a marriage licence and the right for her to stay in the country, Martin has not only warned to her but is now very committed to doing what he can to ensure that she can stay.
So as he is an older white gay widower and she is amuch younger Congolese woman they are subject to being investigation by the Immigration Police who take to visit unannounced at 5 am on a couple of mornings. If tripping up over some of their tricky questions is not enough, there is the sudden arrival of Phillipe (Rachel Mwanza) another illegal immigrant who Tamara claims is her brother.
With Phillipe moving in as Martin gets more protective of Tamara they also have to deal with a visit from Norbert who Tamara has been ignoring even though she still acknowledges he is her boyfriend. With the Authorities closing in on them all it takes on an hilarious farcical as they all try to get what they want from the situation as it quickly whirls out of control.
The success of this charming but slightly uneven comedy hangs heavily on the unlikely relationship between Martin and Tamara and the wonderful chemistry between the two very talented actors. With the whole controversial subject of immigration very much in the forefront of the news, this is yet another story of someone who needed to bend the rules to get a better life, so stories like these are probably very common these days. Not all of them however are as sweet and funny as this.
