Parlez-moi de la pluie (2008) - film review

One summer, Agathe Villanova, a renowned feminist-turned-politician returns to her family home in the south of France. It has been a year since her mother died and her visit is as much for professional as for private reasons. Her sister Florence still lives in the house, with her husband, children and Algerian housekeeper Mimouna. The latter’s son, Karim, is planning to make a film about successful women with his friend Michel Ronsard. Agathe would make an ideal subject for such a film...

Husband-and-wife team Agnès Jaoui and Jean-Pierre Bacri deliver another delightful bitter-sweet slice of life in this, their third, collaboration as director and screenwriter.  As in their previous two films - Le Goût des autres (2000) and Comme une image (2004) - the story revolves around a clash of cultures through which the protagonists, who are initially all too sure of themselves, grow to realise their failings and emerge as better people.  The film takes its title from the opening line of the well-known George Brassens song L’Orage: "Parlez-moi de la pluie et non pas du beau temps."

As in other Jaoui-Bacri offerings, the charm of this film lies in the subtle interplay of the characters and the way in which this allows us to see beyond the surface impressions and glimpse the true person beneath the charade.  Outwardly, the three main protagonists (played to perfection by Bacri, Jaoui and iconic comedian-turned actor Jamel Debbouze) appear to be familiar caricatures - the has been reporter, the feminist career woman and the dreamer who has no hope of realising his ambitions.  It is only when they come together that these three characters cease to resemble walking clichés and become convincing, complex human beings.  This approach, of characters revealing their true identity through their interaction with others, is an essential feature of Jaoui’s films and works particularly well in this one, which is concerned with the fallacy of judging by surface impressions.

Parlez-moi de la pluie is arguably the most engaging and sophisticated film to come from the Jaoui-Bacri partnership to date.  There may be less overt comedy than in Le Goût des autres, but it is just as probing and nuanced in its portrayal of human nature and the poignancy has a slightly keener edge to it.  The characters are well-drawn and played with panache and sincerity by some fine actors.  You hardly recognise Jamel Debbouze as the anarchic comedian of yesteryear; here he is completely transformed and gives a tender and humane performance that is more likely to make you cry than laugh.   The rural setting and David Quesemand’s sensual cinematography bring a gentle poetic quality to the film that enriches it and evokes the subtle melancholy of a long rainy day in summer.

© James Travers 2010

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