What if the famously multilingual Switzerland suddenly shifts to having just one official language? That’s what Zurich-born filmmaker Peter Luisi imagines in this political satire Bonjour Switzerland. Its original title Bon Schuur Ticino makes more sense in the context of the film as most of the action takes place in the Italian region of Ticino. The film’s opening efficiently shows the country’s linguistic diversity with four official languages: German, French, Italian, and Romansh (spoken by less than 1% of the population). Seemingly out of the blue, the Swiss government held a referendum mandating that only one national language would be spoken.

The Swiss people thought the ‘No Blingue’ initiative would never come to pass but the polls show French comes out on top, even though it’s spoken by less than 25% of the population. The script by Luisi and Beat Schlatter, a Swiss comedian playing dual roles in this movie, swiftly establishes this droll satire with witty, absurdist humor.

We first see Schlatter as media mogul Jeannot Bachmann, the main proponent of the referendum, then as German-speaking federal agent Walter Egli who’s completely blindsided by this sudden shift to monolingualism that goes into effect in a matter of months. Naturally, the country descends into chaos as non-French speaking residents have to take language classes, including Walter who barely speaks a lick of French himself. That very idea in and of itself is so ludicrous that it lends itself to a riotous comedy.

The funniest bits are when Walter is sent to Ticino to deal with a separatist group who vehemently oppose this mandate. As if life weren’t complicated enough for Walter, he’s assigned a quirky undercover agent Jonas Bernard (Vincent Kucholl) as his partner. The movie becomes more of a buddy cop comedy as Walter + Jonas have a starkly different style of working and communicating, made even funnier as Jonas stubbornly refuses to speak German to Walter.

During an intense protest rally, Walter meets a Ticino’s separatist member Francesca (Catherine Pagani) who mistakes him for a fellow protester. Walter is welcomed with open arms by Francesca’s family and the Ticino community and there’s even a bit of romance thrown in without tilting the movie off balance.

The story slides into slapstick action comedy with Jonas’ over-the-top disguises, the riotous train scene and the hilarious bit with the sheepskin hides. This could’ve been an overblown, idiotic mess but Luisi manages to keep it together with a robust sense of humor and infectious joie de vivre spirit, while Martin Bezzola‘s peppy score adds an extra dose of whimsy. The movie could also double as a Swiss tourism video as DP Rafael Kistler showcases the beauty of the Swiss Alps and picturesque Ticino with its stunning Alpine peaks.

Interestingly, Alex Garland’s CIVIL WAR is in theaters now, a dystopian film that imagines an alternative America that plunges into a bloody civil war. In some ways, Luisi imagines what it would look like if a rift like that were to happen in Switzerland, but in keeping with the country’s peaceful nature, this is done with a lighthearted touch without a single gunshot fired.

I enjoyed this movie tremendously, it’s engaging, sweet, and genuinely funny from start to finish. It’s the best kind of satire that encourages viewers to embrace and celebrate linguistic and cultural diversity instead of using our differences to drive a wedge between us.

Brevity is the soul of wit indeed as Luisi can tell the story effectively in under 90 minutes. This is my #1 movie of MSPIFF and I’m not surprised it’s shortlisted in the Best of Fest where the winning films get additional screenings. I actually rewatched it this weekend with my husband and a couple of friends and it made me laugh out loud the second time around.

Have you seen Bonjour Switzerland or is this a movie you’d like to see? I’d love to hear what you think!

///