Agnès Jaoui said in an interview that one day she was on her way to a writing session with Jean-Pierre and had in her ears the song 'L'orage' by Georges Brassens which opens with the lines 'parlez-moi de la pluie, et non pas du beau temps.'

The film is a comedy of middle-class French life ' examining culture clashes, puncturing smugness, exposing fault lines, finding strength in romantic and familial relationships and discovering an underlying sadness that stops some way short of tragedy.

Following the death of her widowed mother Agathe Villanova comes from Paris to deal with the sale of the home where she and her younger sister Florence were brought up, and to announce her entry into politics.

His collaborator is a young Algerian hotel clerk Karim, whose elderly mother has worked for most of her life as a servant with the Villanova family.

'The characters weave around each other for a week or so, occasionally colliding...everyone comes to have a better knowledge of themselves..the dialogue rings true..the ensemble acting is perfect..The film compares favourably with the best of Éric Rohmer.'