Park Benches

"Park Benches" (Bancs publics, 2009) is a French ensemble comedy you can watch online on iFILM. Director Bruno Podalydès turns Versailles into a mosaic of strangers — office workers, loners, lovers and passersby — whose brief encounters weave together across a single ordinary day.

The cast reads like a who's who of French cinema: Catherine Deneuve, Josiane Balasko, Chiara Mastroianni, Thierry Lhermitte, Denis Podalydès and a dozen more. Each vignette is its own small comedy or near-miss romance; the pleasure is in watching threads connect without force. It asks nothing heavy of the viewer — just attention and a little patience, and it rewards both. Watch "Park Benches" online on iFILM.