Film Review
Not content with being one of France's busiest screen actors, and a
much-liked one at that, Jean-Paul Rouve has taken to directing films as
a rewarding sideline. There is absolutely nothing to connect his
first two directorial offerings -
Sans arme, ni haine, ni violence (2008),
a biopic of the gangster Albert Spaggiari, and Quand
je serai petit (2012), a quirky comedy-drama in which Rouve
(literally) gets in touch with his inner child. His third
feature,
Les Souvenirs, is
different again, although it is just as prone to heavily laid on
sentimentality as its predecessor - indeed its awkward mix of schmaltz
and dark humour may be a definite turn-off for some spectators.
(Apparently, some Normandy tourist information offices hand out advice
on how to kill yourself - although if you have ever been to Normandy
you'll understand why.)
Les Souvenirs is based on a
novel by the bestselling author David Foenkinos, who co-scripted the
film with Rouve. If Foenkinos's name rings a bell that is
probably because he recently adapted one of his novels for cinema as
La
Délicatesse (2011), and Rouve's film exhibits many of
the weaknesses of this earlier film - a surfeit of good-natured but
slightly forced sentimentality and a rambling narrative that struggles
to have anything original to say. On the plus side, the film is
eminently well-cast, with two well-regarded stars of French cinema,
Michel Blanc and Annie Cordy, lending weight and charm to the thin and
mostly predictable plot. 24-year-old Mathieu Spinosi impresses in
his first substantial screen role, his scenes with Cordy being
particularly heart-warming, poignantly expressive of an
inter-generational bond that is seldom given the time and attention it
deserves in cinema.
It's alarming to think that Cordy has been appearing in films for over
sixty years, first making her mark in the hit comedy
Poisson
d'avril (1954), in which she starred alongside the comic
legend Bourvil. Since, Cordy has made a name for herself not only
as an actress, but also as a very successful singer. It's almost
as hard to believe that it has been forty years since Michel Blanc
first forced his comedy persona onto the big screen in such popular
fare as
Les Bronzés
(1978). And this is essentially what Rouve's film is about -
coming to terms with the passage of time and never losing touch with
the past. The transmission of memories down the generations is an
essential part of this aspect of human experience, and Rouve's
touching, albeit somewhat over-emotional, film makes us realise how
important memories are in helping us to cope with time's relentless
march.
© James Travers 2015
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Next Jean-Paul Rouve film:
Quand je serai petit (2012)
Film Synopsis
Romain, 23, has hopes of pursuing a career as a writer, but for the
time being he works as a night porter in a Parisian hotel. His
father's retirement coincides with the death of his grandfather, and
his octogenarian grandmother ends up being shunted into a retirement
home, where the old woman is left wondering what she is doing amidst so
many decrepit oldsters. One day, Romain is contacted by his
father with the shock news that his grandmother has gone missing,
without the least clue as to where she might have gone. Romain
sets out to find her and traces her to the coastal of town of
Étretat in Normandy. Here, a close bond develops between
the 85-year-old woman and her barely adult grandson...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.