'Life is a Long Quiet River' (1988) - Etienne Chatiliez.

Sardonic, playful, deliciously spontaneous, and just a little bit bonkers, gifted writer/director, Etienne Chatiliez's twisted satire about the devastating, wickedly funny familial melt down that destructively ensues after an aggrieved nurse vengefully switches two newborn babies; fatefully raised in financial disparate families, their frantic existential revelation dramatically explodes into 90 harmonious minutes of uncommonly exuberant cinema! 

While this anarchic comedy is, perhaps, one of the most idiosyncratic family dramas I can recall; it exudes the very same unbridled eccentricity that makes, Aki Kaurismäki's singular visions so indelible! With a witty, bitingly clever text, sublime set design, winningly vibrant performances, plus some ear-wormingly whimsical songs, Chatiliez's disarming, refreshingly acerbic black comedy masterpiece is the best French film you've never heard of! It's somewhat unconventional for such a frequently outré, uproariously off-beat comedy to be grounded with such a nuenced array of vividly drawn, flesh and blood real characters. 'Life is a Long Quiet River' must have been quite the delightful revelation back in 1988, since it still feels entirely miraculous even today! Put simply, there's just something innately lovable about this Gallic glee-maker!