Voyance et manigance (2001) Directed by Eric Fourniols
Comedy
aka: Fortune Tellers and Misfortune
Film Review
This first film from Eric Fourniols (an ex-rugby footballer) offers an amusing satire
on what is possibly the most successful (and perhaps most destructive) con trick of our
time: fortune telling. Watch this film and you are likely to be cured of the urge
to consult a clairvoyant for the rest of your life. Although the film has some noticeable
faults (uneven pacing, some implausible characterisation), it is a fun film to watch,
thanks mainly to the contributions from its talented cast. Emmanuelle Béart
demonstrates a surprising talent for comedy and is the main reason for watching this film.
Dieudonné, who has built a solid reputation as a comic performer in recent years,
is worryingly convincing in his role as the fraudulent fortune teller, whilst Anémone,
a prolific comic actress in the 1980s, appears to have lost none of her charms and is
deliciously over-the-top. The charismatic Serge Hazanavicius once again finds
himself in the role of a sympathetic Don Juan - a part he plays well, but at the risk
of becoming irredeemably stereotyped. Too many football references perhaps, but
overall this makes an amusing Gallic romp.
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Film Synopsis
Chantal's well-ordered life is suddenly thrown into turmoil when her husband Roland loses
his job. On the advice of a friend, she goes to see a professional clairvoyant,
hoping to find out what the future holds for her husband. Chantal is surprised when
the clairvoyant, Alban, tells her that a new man is about to enter her life and that she
is a cursed woman. To dispel the curse, she must pay for a course of therapy.
Chantal suspects she is being duped but her scepticism suddenly disappears when she meets
a handsome young man, Michel, whose charms she cannot resist. Now convinced that
Alban was right, Chantal takes up his course to cure her of her affliction, without realising
she is the victim of an elaborate scam...
Cast:Emmanuelle Béart (Chantal Bardet),
Dieudonné (Le mage Alban),
Anémone (Jacqueline),
Serge Hazanavicius (Michel),
Zinedine Soualem (Roland Bardet),
Valérie Bonneton (Agnès),
Olivier Claverie (Robert),
Boris Duponchel (Franck),
Vincent Moscato (Sahuc),
Candide Sanchez (Frère Bernard),
Thierry Gimenez (Thillet),
Anne Le Ny (Mme Clédes),
Agathe Teyssier (Catherine),
Marie Le Cam (La jeune fille rousse),
Mathilde Vitry (La maîtresse d'Alban),
Didier Menin (L'administré),
Colette Maire (La patronne du tabac),
Audrey Langle (La serveuse),
Luc Palun (Le patron du PMU),
Philippe Soutan (L'alcoolique)
Country: France
Language: French
Support: Color
Runtime: 90 min
Aka:Fortune Tellers and Misfortune
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