Julie Delpy directs and stars in the charming, and delightfully satirical Meet the Barbarians. Set in the small town of Paimpont, France, a teacher, Joelle (Delpy) has convinced the local town council to do their part and take in some Ukranian refugees, they’ve studied, they’ve got a home set-up, have donated groceries, and are ready to welcome a displaced family into theirs.

Unfortunately, there aren’t any more. So instead, Paimpont is being sent a refugee family from Syria, and what comes next is an often laugh-out-loud look at political correctness, xenophobia, and stereotypes.

With a sly eye, Delpy tells her story interweaving just faults into the inhabitants of the town, as those they are willing to find in their new residents, the Fayad family, Marwan (Zaid Bakri), his wife Louna (Dalia Naous), his sister, Alma (Rita Hayek), their two children, and Marwen’s father.

As cultures clash, an ugly underbelly is exposed through the hateful and xenophobic thinking of Herve Riou (Laurent Lafitte), good intentions may not be enough, village secrets will come out, and friends may fall out.

There’s pointed remarks on the fact that these new residents, like many refugees taken in across the globe, have skills, doctors, architects, and more though their credentials are recognized, forcing them into other roles that may ill-suit them. But the Fayad family is idealistic, and occasionally struggles to be optimistic, and they and most of the residents of Paimpoint, represent the best of us.

If we set aside our perceived petty differences.

Meet the Barbarians is absolutely delightful, and while there a couple of moments that you know have to happen, they are wonderfully created, and Delpy brings a fresh eye and a sense of compassion and joy to her narrative and characters.

A genuine feel-good comedy, this also serves as a positive commentary to do something; if it’s in your power to help, you should help, something Delpy’s character learns through the course of the film.

I adored this one, it’ll entertain, and while its story isn’t one that hasn’t been heard before, it’s done exceedingly well against a beautiful backdrop, and with some wonderfully eccentric characters.

Meet the Barbarians aka Les Barbares Monday, Tuesday and Thursday through the course of the festival.