The Three Kings

Three wise men from ancient Bethlehem, Balthazar, Melchior and Gaspard, set out to honor the newborn Jesus but are suddenly yanked two thousand years into the future. They awake to a busy Paris street, unfamiliar signs, and a world that runs on fast talk and gadgets. In this strange capital, a spirited young woman named Macha crosses their path, and they believe she can lead them to the promised child. With a stubborn mix of curiosity and stubborn faith, the trio stumbles through cafes, metro stations, and markets while trying to interpret modern norms, fashion, and flirtation. Their misfit odyssey becomes a comic mirror on belief, friendship, and what time does to faith when history collides with the present today.

Directed by Didier Bourdon and Bernard Campan, this 2001 French comedy fantasy is built around an original concept by Olivier Rabourdin. The film blends their familiar humor with a cheeky time travel premise set against a distinctly Parisian backdrop today.

Critically the film plays as a light hearted, family friendly romp rather than a prestige project. Audiences enjoy the fish out of water humor and the trio's chemistry, while the story hints at faith, friendship, and time's stubborn pull on human hope. It adds gentle city satire and warm performances.

Among French audiences it earned a modest cult following for the trio's playfully anachronistic dynamic and a handful of memorable moments. While not a blockbuster, it contributed to a niche genre of time travel comedies and remains a reference point for how screen teams reinvent themselves with warmth and whimsy.

Box office data for this film are not broadly reported, and there is no widely cited worldwide gross. The movie primarily circulated in France and select markets, appealing to fans of the stars and French genre cinema, and light humor.