SEE HOW THEY RUN

One need not be an audiophile to hear the vibe of actor/writer/director Michel Blanc's sardonic Saturnalia: ultra-low fidelity at high R.P.M. A set of cosmopolitan friends and associates are planning their summer holidays, although real-estate businessman Bertrand casually announces that he'll stay at home this year, taking a vacation from the vacations, as it were. That's fine with his wife Elisabeth, who seeks quality time escaping at a seaside resort with her friends, including single-mother Julie who happens to be Bertrand's former mistress. ?milie, Bertrand and Elisabeth's teenage offspring, has come away from her parents' lax relationship with a penchant for promiscuity; no sooner is she on an airliner bound for Chicago's clubland with her secret amour Kevin than she starts making dates on the side with a British lad in the same aisle. Meanwhile, back at the resort, Julie seems to find the man of her dreams in Maxime, a handsome rake who conceals his marriage (and conquers foolish females) by pretending to be a soulful young widower. But their idyll falls foul of another resort guest, Jean-Pierre, a failed writer who channels his frustration into psychotic jealousy regarding his spouse Lulu; he suspects Maxime (among a thousand other men) as Lulu's clandestine lover. Meanwhile, Bertrand, back home but not alone uncovers financial irregularities over his protege at work, Kevin. Add attempted suicide, seasickness and a vintage gas-meter collection, and you'll have to soak up the sun until fadeout to see which partnerings last beyond checkout time. (In French with English subtitles)