First Trailer for French Action Comedy ‘The Gardener’ Featuring JCVD
by Alex Billington
December 13, 2024
Source: YouTube
“I don’t understand. It must be a gardener’s thing.” Prime Video France has revealed the first official trailer for an action comedy called The Gardener, or Le Jardinier in French. This is ready for a debut in France streaming on PV in January, though strangely not worldwide – only in France with no US release confirmed or set yet. Even though we all thought JCVD had retired from acting, especially from any action movies, he continues to appear in movies all the time and take on action roles anyway. The movie stars Jean-Claude Van Damme as Léo, an enigmatic gardener whose skills extend far beyond landscape maintenance. The story draws viewers into a murky affair of political elimination orchestrated by high level government. Serge holds a state secret. He, his family, and his gardener Leo appear on a government death list. They attempt to devise a plan to stay alive. The cast includes Michaël Youn, Nawell Madani, Carla Poquin, and rapper Kaaris. This looks as dumb as it sounds, with cheesy action and a derivative story we’ve seen often before.
Here’s the official French trailer (+ poster) for David Charhon’s film The Gardener, direct from YouTube:
Every year, the Prime Minister eliminates a list of all kinds of troublemakers in the name of raison d’état. Serge Shuster (Michaël Youn), a high-ranking civil servant with close ties to the President, finds himself at the heart of a scheme that puts his name on that kill list. Condemned to certain death, at the heart of a state secret that also puts his family in danger, Serge, his wife and children have only one hope left: their strange gardener, Léo (Jean-Claude Van Damme). The Gardener, also known as Le Jardinier in French, is directed by French writer / filmmaker David Charhon, director of the films Cyprien, On the Other Side of the Tracks, Castaways, and The Last Mercenary previously. The screenplay is written by David Charhon, Vincent De Brus, and Sebastien Fechner. Produced by Sebastien Fechner. This hasn’t premiered at any fests or elsewhere, as far as we know. Amazon will debut Charhon’s The Gardener film streaming on Prime Video (in France) starting January 10th, 2025 early next year. No US release has been confirmed yet. Anyone?