Au petit Marguery
1995 Drama / Comedy / Romance
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Credits
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Summary
For the past 30 years, Hippolyte and his wife Joséphine have managed a chic restaurant
called Le petit Marguery. Now, because of ill health, Hippolyte is forced
to close the restaurant and retire, but the master chef intends to go out in a blaze of
glory. On the final evening before closing, he and his wife host an extravagant
party for their family, friends and regular customers. Amid the celebration, they
reflect on the memories the restaurant has given them...
Review
Those essential pillars of French life, family and food, provide the subject for this
bittersweet comedy-drama starring Stéphane Audran and Michel Aumont. Whilst
generally a pleasing work, with some nice comic touches and moments of poignant reflection,
this film is somewhat marred by its excesses. There are so many secondary
characters in the film that it is virtually impossible to distinguish them, music is over-used
to the point of pomposity, and lengthy shots of food being prepared, served and eaten
are, to say the least, over-indulgent. As a result, the film feels rather bland
and empty in places, lacking direction and focus. Fortunately, sympathetic performances
from the two leading actors give the film some meaning and at least partly compensates
for the film’s weaker points.
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