Agathe Villanova (Agnes Jaqui) has returned to her family's summer home to help sort through her recently deceased mother's belongings. Her sister Florence (Pascale Arbillot) lives there with her husband and children. The two do not get along since Agathe was favored by her mother and Florence has always been viewed as too sensitive.
Agathe is a feminist writer who has decided to enter politics. While she is in town, she agrees to be interviewed for a documentary made by Michel (Jean-Pierre Bacri) and Karim (Jamel Debbouze). Michel is a easily flustered man who is capable of saving a choking boy at a gathering but unable to explain a dessert on a menu to his son. He is having an affair with Florence. Karim is the son of Mimouna (Mimouna Hadji), an Algerian housekeeper who looks after the family's summer home. Karim works as a clerk at an inn and bristles with anger at what he sees as the racism of the French.
Agnes Jaqui animates Let It Rain with a delightful appreciation for the flaws and foibles of these characters. It has the same spirit and flare of The Taste of Others, a romantic comedy she directed. Through the interactions of this band of men and women she manages to comment on sexual politics, family, adultery, feminism, film-making, and politics. People reveal their true colors in little matters, such as the way they handle disappointment, anger, loneliness, and decision-making. Jaqui does a fine job conveying Agathe's role as the strong and responsible sister who has to take charge of things. Jean-Pierre Bacri is a hoot as Michel, the wannabe filmmaker who bungles relationships and nearly everything he touches. Jamel Debbouze is convincing as Karim, a tightly wound man of principles who learns to be more tolerant of others.
Screened at the 46th New York Film Festival, October 2008.
