Comme un avion (2002)

Comme un avion is a French film first released in 2002, directed by Marie-France Pisier.  The film stars Bérénice Bejo, Marie-France Pisier, Guillaume Depardieu, Clément van den Bergh and Laurence Côte.  It has also been released under the title: Like an Airplane.  Our overall rating for this film is: mediocre.


When her mother goes on a tour of Italy, Lola takes her place in the home, getting a part-time job and protecting her sensitive brother from the pangs of adolescence.  This happy sibling nest is disturbed when their mother makes a sudden, and unexpected return…

In this, her second full-length film as a director, Marie-France Pisier tries to portray the complexities of an estranged family relationship but ends up bewildering her audience with an abstract, aimless mishmash of vague meditations on contemporary life.  Pisier goes some way to forging a new cinematic style but is woefully let down by her script, her editing and some ineffective acting.  This may have worked as a short film, but as a 100 minute drama, it poses something of an ordeal for the most indulgent of cinema audiences.  Not surprisingly, the only character to hold any fascination for the spectator is that portrayed by Pisier herself, amply demonstrating that her talent as an actress far surpasses her skill as a director.

© James Travers 2005

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