Film Review
Before she finally succumbed to breast cancer in August 2015, writer-director
Solveig Anspach neatly concluded her series of quirky fictional features
with a typically charming rom-com that succinctly encapsulates her infectious
zest for living.
L'Effet aquatique is a sequel of sorts to her
earlier spirited comedy
Queen
of Montreuil (2013), with the magnificent trio of actors Florence
Loiret-Caille, Samir Guesmi and Didda Jonsdottir all reprising their roles
in another off-kilter slice of life that bristles with charm and good humour.
Released just under a year after its director's untimely death, the film
is one of Anspach's warmest offerings and is so sweetly sincere and lacking
in cynicism that you just cannot help taking it to your heart.
Inspired in part by Jerzy Skolimowski's
Deep End (1970),
L'Effet
aquatique is less of a conventional rom-com and more a humorous account
of what love can do to a perfectly well-adjusted individual once it has taken
hold. The film's depiction of an ordinary Joe driven to excessive behaviour
in pursuit of his ideal soul-mate (who naturally mistakes his unwelcome attentions
for creepy obsession) is authentically portrayed but provides a rich comedy
vein. As the downcast hero taking a fierce beating from Cupid's darts,
Samir Guesmi turns in a sympathetic performance and is suitably matched with
the fiercely independent but equally lonely widow played by Florence Loiret-Caille.
The colourful Icelandic actress Didda Jonsdottir, who has enlivened several
previous Anspach films, comes into her own in the film's second half, when
it switches location from Montreuil to Iceland, revitalising the film just
as the narrative starts to sag.
Avoiding the more fanciful (almost surreal) comedy digressions of
Queen
of Montreuil, Anspach and her frequent co-screenwriter Jean-Luc Gaget
make this a more believable comedy offering which gives more space for the
central characters to breathe and engage our sympathies. The chemistry
between Guesmi and Loiret-Caille is ultimately what sells the film and prevents
the perhaps too-understated humour from losing its appeal. Avoiding
the mushy excesses that are sadly part and parcel of most feel-good movies
today,
L'Effet aquatique is a delightful rom-com that you can comfortably
sit through without feeling even slightly nauseous. Solveig Anspach's
directorial swansong may leave us lamenting her passing, but it also leaves
us with a smile on our faces and a warm glow in our hearts.
© James Travers 2017
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Film Synopsis
Samir is a 40-something who lives in Montreuil and works as a crane operator.
One day, he notices an attractive widow named Agathe in a bar and finds himself
strongly drawn to her. Learning that she is a swimming instructor at
the municipal pool, he decides to taking swimming lessons just so that he
can get to know her better. Agathe isn't fooled by Samir's deception
for long, and deceit is the one thing that she cannot forgive. Once
she has twigged that he is a perfectly capable swimmer, she refuses to have
anything more to do with him. So off she goes to Iceland, to represent
France at the Tenth International Congress of Swimming Instructors. Undeterred
by this pretty blatant rejection, Samir follows Agathe to the congress and
passes himself off as an Israeli delegate...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.