Ma Petite Entreprise (1999)

An honest man finds himself involved in an insurance fraud scheme -- but with the best of intentions -- in this French comedy. Ivan (Vincent Lindon) runs a woodworking shop founded by his grandfather. With a handful of employees and a devoted clientele, his business is doing well and Ivan takes genuine pride in its success. One day, Ivan and his employees return from lunch to discover their building is burning down. While Ivan is not happy, he's secure in the knowledge that his insurance will pay his damages and keep him afloat. Or at least that's what he thinks: it turns out that Maxime (Francois Berleand), Ivan's insurance agent, worked out a scheme where he could file policies with an insurance company retroactively and pocket the rest of the premiums. However, Maxime's partner in this scheme has taken a powder, so he comes up with an idea: Maxime, Ivan, and Sami (Roschdy Zem), who lives with Ivan's former wife, will break into the insurance company's office, tap into their computer system, and enter the policy that Ivan thought would be there all along. If this plan succeeds, Ivan can stay in business (good news for Ivan) and continue to pay alimony and child support (good news for Sami), while Maxime can avoid going to jail (good news for Maxime). If they fail, of course, they'll all go to jail, which is bad news for everyone. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi