Films: The Illusionist (2010)

The Illusionist (2010)
Dir: Sylvain Chomet
Cast: Jean-Claude Donda, Eilidh Rankin

The premise is simple. The old world of wonder and illusion is being cruelly overpowered by rock and roll, screaming girls and 'The Industry.' Old is good, new is bad.

The Illusionist is a dying breed and finds himself systematically rejected and chucked out of the grand concert halls of his hey-day and into grimy pubs and garden parties. With his grumpy rabbit, he trundles off to Scotland in search of work. Staying in a cosy pub in the highlands, he meets Alice, a little girl who truly believes in his magic. They set off on an adventure to the big city, where the illusionist is forced to beg and borrow in order to keep his little companion's dreams alive.

The film is simultaneously beautiful and tragic. The characters are over-exaggerated caricatures of reality, but somehow believable. However, it is the artwork in the animations which demands the greatest praise. The scenery is incredibly detailed - almost real in many scenes. The film is virtually silent, with very little dialogue and no soudtrack to speak of. But there is great power and storytelling in the movements, actions, colours and images that play out on screen.

My rating **** 4/5 stars
Recommendation: This is a genuinely engaging animation, but if you are not a fan of ciné or prefer your characters to garble Sorkin-esque dialogue, then this is probably not your bag.

Films: Bienvenue Chez les Ch'tis

Bienvenue Chez les Ch'tis (2008)
Dir. Dany Boon
Cast: Dany Boon, Kad Merad, Zoé Félix, Anne Marivin

This film has taken over the French box-office this spring, a complete surprise success. Dany Boon is well known in France for his stand-up comedy, and he moves seamlessly onto film here. He brings his unique brand of visual and coloquial humour to the film, and his cast are absolutely brilliant.

The story follows the life of Phillipe Abrams (Merad) who has recetly been forced to move from the warm, beautiful South of France to Nord-pas-de-Calais for his job as manager of the local Post Office. He and his wife prepare for the worst - freezing conditions, simple people and definately no fun. However, the group that Phillipe meets, are warm and welcoming, no frills, laid back kind of people who become his best friends. They life a life full of riotous laughs and ridiculous situations that must be kept from Phillipe's wife who has become much more loving in the light of her husband's 'traumatic' new work situation.

The film is full of laughter, visual and verbal gags - even the title plays with the differences between the French accent in the north and south - and clichés about the north-south divide. It is very easy to watch, even if your French is not that good. The wordplay is hilarious and perhaps some of the funniest scenes revolve around a misunderstanding of the spoken word. However, it is during the four-minutes it takes for Phillipe and Antoine (Boon) to get completely plastered while doing the daily post round, that you completely fall in love with the whole film.

Rating: ***** 5/5
Recommendation: Try and pick up as much French as you can, but just enjoy the superb humour and warmth of this wonderful gem!

Films: Modern Love

Modern Love (2008)
Dir. Stéphane Kanzandijan
Cast: Alexandra Lamy, Stéphane Rousseau, Bérénice Bejo, Pierre-Francois Martin-Laval, Clotilde Courau, Stéphane Dubac

It's a French film with an English title. Why not? Taking the format of a film within a film, Modern Love follows the almost excrutiating rollercoaster of relationships of three couples. The first, which wins the film's most laughs, are the odd on-screen coupling of Marianne (Lamy) and Vincent (Rousseau). They sing, dance and sign their way through some brilliant cinema moments. Love conquers all and they literally ride off into the sunset.

The two 'real-life' couples are made up of Eric (Laval), the author of the film-in-the-film, and Marie, a woman who is so bizarre it's hard to see why Eric is so infatuated with her, and the bouncy, boyish Elsa (Bejo) and gorgeous Jérome (Dubac). There is a certain amount of characters crossing paths - though nothing to equal the likes of Love Actually - and neither couple ends up particularly happy.

Eric and Marie's strange relationship comes from a past which is never really explained, and what does go on between them is verging on the slightly weird. Eric is loveable however, as a tortured and love-struck writer. Elsa and Jérome have some very funny scenes but also never make a very believable couple.

I found myself just waiting for the next Marianne and Vincent musical number, which seemed to be the most enjoyable and actually most realistic. The finale is brilliant. If it's too complicated to say, why not sign how you feel? All in all, the film is funny and watchable, but it is the interspersed light-hearted songs that keep the audience from wondering whether all relationships in France are built on such disturbingly rocky foundations.

Rating: *** 3/5
Reccommendations: It's a quirky, French Rom-Com. You won't quite know how to react. Give it a try!