Les Petites couleurs (2002) - film review

Christelle is a hairdresser in a small provincial town.  Aged 35, she has been married to an older man for almost 20 years, during which time she has been bullied, deceived and taken for granted.  Her only escape is a daily dose of the musical soap opera, Le Ranch de l’amour.  After a violent dispute with her husband, Christelle snaps.  She abandons her home and lands, distraught and tearful, at the Galaxy Motel.  The no-nonsense owner of the motel, Mona, takes pity on Christelle, offering her work and a place to stay.  Thanks to a revolutionary new hair styling machine, Christelle regains her self-confidence.  She strikes up a friendship with young truck driver, Lucien, who falls madly in love with her.  Unable to trust her true feelings, Christelle rejects Lucien and instead decides to sample the wares of a travelling salesman...

Les Petites couleurs is one of those rare films which appears superficially simple but which has an indefinable poetry that leaves a marked impression on its spectator.  Although competently made and prettily filmed, it is the film’s simplicity which is its greatest charm.  There are no great cinematic innovations here, no special effects, no grand plot developments, no full-frontal nudity.  Just an attractive slice-of-life comedy-drama – with a few slightly surreal touches (a hair styling machine from outer space and the world’s tackiest soap opera).

The film probably wouldn’t feel half so good if it were not for the quality of the acting it can boast.  There are impeccable naturalistic performances all round but the gold cup has to go jointly to Anouk Grinberg and Bernadette Lafont.  Grinberg’s performance is a revelation, reminding us that she is one of the most sorely underrated, and under-used, actresses in French cinema.  Her portrayal of Christelle conveys all the pain and disorientation of a woman who has been deceived in love but who needs love to continue living.  That may sound like sentimental women-only trash fiction but it most categorically isn’t.  Grinberg is so convincing that you really do feel her character’s anguish and emotional turnaround.  Her pairing with Bernadette Lafont is a stroke of inspired genius, few leading actresses complement each other so well as here.

Of course, Lafont needs no introduction.  She is simply one of the greatest actresses in French cinema, and has been for more decades than it is polite to say.  Here, as the thick-skinned owner of a motel, she portrays a late middle-aged woman who has endured more than her fair share of disappointments with a revealing depth and honesty.  We deserve to see more of this wonderful actress than we do.  As this film demonstrates, she still has the guts and talent to take on demanding roles, and she clearly has so much more to offer.

© James Travers 2004

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