Film Review
Dialogue avec mon jardinier is
the kind of quintessentially French film which intelligent non-French
audiences adore - a quiet, reflective comedy-drama centred on the
relationship that develops between two instantly likeable everyman
characters. It is certainly a film with considerable charm, its
unhurried pace and pretty rural setting offering a very welcome respite
from the stresses and strains of modern life - cinema at its most
relaxing and therapeutic. Charming as the film is, however, it is
at times frustratingly simplistic in its exploration of human
relationships, and this is particularly apparent in the secondary
characters who are little more than thinly sketched stereotypes.
Fortunately this one failing is more than adequately compensated for by
the immensely engaging contributions from the lead actors Daniel
Auteuil and Jean-Pierre Darroussin, who complement one another so well
and invest the film with so much charm that you cannot help falling in
love with it, despite its obvious shortcomings.
Dialogue avec mon jardinier
was directed by Jean Becker, who is best known for his popular
nostalgia piece
Les Enfants du marais (1999),
which this film has much in common with. Becker, the son of the
influential French filmmaker Jacques Becker, has had something of a
chequered career. After a lacklustre period as a film director in
the 1960s, he made a high-profile comeback in the '80s with the stylish
erotic thriller
L'Été meurtrier
(1983). However, his career only really took off with
Les Enfants du marais and in recent
years he appears to have found a new lease of life, loved and admired
by audiences if not by the critics.
Dialogue avec mon jardinier
exemplifies the kind of film that Becker makes best, a gentle rural
fable that combines his love for the French countryside with his
interest in friendships between seemingly ill-matched characters.
There is nothing particularly profound about this film. It
vaguely resembles one of Eric Rohmer's sunnier offering but manifestly
lacks the subtlety and depth that Rohmer so easily brought to his
films. It is a modest film that has no other ambition than to
celebrate friendship, that cornerstone of human existence which cinema,
and indeed society in general, tends to underrate (if not scorn) these
days. Auteuil and Darroussin are superb, as ever, and make
a perfect contrast - the former's pent-up anger and moody introspection
effectively complementing the latter's almost Buddhist-like calm.
There are no dramatic developments (apart from the one that comes right
at the end), yet the film holds our attention all the way through, its
interest value deriving entirely from the subtle interplay of the two
main characters as they get to know one another and thereby find
a greater sense of well-being.
Dialogue
avec mon jardinier is not a deep or complex film, but it is a
curiously life-affirming piece with a simple but cogent
message - friendships are like plants: they require patient attention
and nuturing if they are to blossom and bring forth fruit. Romantic love
may wither and die, but friendship, if carefully cultivated, will prove
eternal.
© James Travers 2011
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Next Jean Becker film:
Deux jours à tuer (2008)
Film Synopsis
After the break-up of his marriage, a fifty-something painter decides
to swap his hectic life in Paris for the peace and quiet of the
countryside. But no sooner has he moved into the house in which
he grew up than he realises that he cannot maintain the ample gardens
by himself, so he puts out an ad and in no time has a prospective
gardener. The artist is pleasantly surprised when the job
applicant turns out to be an old school friend, Léo. The
latter has recently given up his job as a railway worker and is happy
to work for his friend as a gardener and odd-job man. As the two
middle-aged men renew their acquaintance their friendship grows and
they become inseparable. The artist, nicknamed Dupinceau by his
friend, marvels at the beautiful simplicity of Léo's life and
finds that this inspires him in his work. But just when Dupinceau
feels he has finally found some calm in his life, disaster strikes...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.