Fanfan (1993) - film review

Alexandre is at first reluctant to allow Fanfan to enter his life.  He already has a girlfriend, Laure, and although that relationship may have lost its sparkle he isn’t willing to throw it up it for a fling with another woman.  But Fanfan’s appeal is irresistible.  She is beautiful, radiant, full of life.  Alexandre finally decides he will court her, but that’s as far as he will go.  He will never share a bed with her.  It will a perfect romance, unsullied by the everyday routine that has burnt out so many love affairs.  Fanfan is at first delighted by the attention that Alexandre gives her, but she soon becomes frustrated by his unwillingness to touch her.  Is Alexandre’s wish to keep Fanfan without sleeping with her doomed to failure..?

Alexandre Jardin made a promising directorial debut with this inspired adaptation of his novel "Fanfan", published in 1990.  Whilst the first half of the film feels unconvincing and painfully superficial in places, things improve significantly in its second half.  Compelling performances from Vincent Perez and Sophie Marceau transform what looks at first like a routine romantic comedy into something far richer, far more compassionate.  The second part of the film also contains some moments of artistic brilliance, notably the Cocteau-esque sequence in which the two lovers attempt to make contact through a mirrored partition.  Although there are a few unexplained gaps in the narrative – some more back story about Alexandre might have helped – writer-director Alexandre Jardin succeeds in weaving a tender love story that is both original and hauntingly poetic.

© James Travers 2006

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