The two stars of this touching and finely-observed comedy are as celebrated
in France as
they deserve to be internationally. The distinguished actor Jean Rochefort
(best known outside of France for his roles in the mini-series Le Comte de
Monte Cristo and 1996’s Ridicule) is Monsieur Manesquier, a retired
teacher who lives in a decaying ancestral house in provincial France, whiling
away his time by giving private lessons and occupying himself with jigsaw
puzzles, the piano and the gentle courtship of Viviane (Isabelle
Petit-Jacques). One day his peaceful existence is interrupted by an unexpected
visitor. Milan (played with
characteristic bad-guy flair by the rock singer Johnny Hallyday) has come to
town to take part in a bank heist and, finding the local hotel closed for the
winter, is compelled to ask the kindly Manesquier for a room. These two
contradictory souls, thrown together by chance and necessity, begin to build an
unlikely and moving friendship. By the time the denouement arrives you too will
feel as if you have come to know these oddly charming men as friends; have your
handkerchief at the ready!
If you like this film, you might enjoy:Ridicule (Leconte,
1996), La Veuve de Saint-Pierre (2000), La Fille sur la Pont (1999)
Etre et avoir, dir. Nicolas Philibert (2002)
This low-budget independent documentary has been one of the runaway
successes of recent French cinema. Given the status of fly on the wall by
Philibert’s sensitive camerawork and the absence of commentary, we follow the
progress of a group of children at a tiny school in rural Auvergne
in the course of half a year. Central to the film is the schoolteacher Georges
Lopez, a quiet and intelligent figure who shepherds his charges through the
complexities of French grammar and mathematics. The joy of the experience is
seeing the children respond to Lopez’ teaching; the heartbreak, in realising
that this school, like others of its kind, is already deemed obsolete.
If you like this film, you might enjoy: La Moindre des
Choses (Philibert, 1997)