Fierrot le pou (1990) - film review

An adolescent loner meets an attractive young woman in a a gymnasium and tries to impress her his skill as a basketball player.  Unfortunately, his skill is virtually non-existent and his futile attempts to net the ball only embarrass him.  Still, he is determined to succeed...

Even in this, his first film, Mathieu Kassovitz shows a surprising maturity and daring in his film-making.  Despite the short length of Fierrot le pou (whose title derives whimsically from the famous Godard film Pierrot le fou), a great deal is crammed into it.  Much of what we see in this film is to be found, more fully developed and refined, in Kassovitz’s later films.

Some of the impressive photographic devices of La Haine can be seen in embryo form in this film, and a strong sense of humanity and struggle for self-realisation (perhaps the strongest hallmarks of a Kassovitz film) are more than evident.

Fierrot le pou  is certainly much lighter and far less aggressive than Kassovitz’s later work, and it is this which gives it its charm and humanity.  Tellingly, Kassovitz’s inexperience is reflected in Fierrot le pou in the film’s humility and lack of pretension.  Like the character he plays in the film, Kassovitz is out to impress, but he also knows he has yet to find his audience.

© James Travers 2001

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