Au petit Marguery (1995) - film review

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...

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.

© James Travers 2001

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