Directed by:
Sylvain ChometScreenplay:
Sylvain ChometCinematography:
Antoine RochCast:
Guillaume Gouix, Anne Le Ny, Bernadette Lafont, Hélène Vincent, Cyril Couton, Jean-Claude Dreyfus, Luis Rego, Fanny Touron, Kea Kaing, Vincent Deniard (more)Plots(1)
Paul has a recurring nightmare. He is a baby in his mother's arms, when suddenly his father's angry face fills the screen and Paul wakes in a sweat. Mysteriously orphaned since age 2 and not having spoken a word since then, he leads a reclusive existence with his two aunts who run a dance school in Paris. The sisters have their sights set on Paul becoming a pianist of international stature and he spends his days accompanying them on the piano as they teach their students waltzes and tangos. That is until he meets Madame Proust, the neighbour from the 4th floor, who leaves Paul a message telling him she knows the whereabouts of parents. Madame Proust is not your regular neighbour. An eccentric, opinionated, nature-loving ex-hippy, she cultivates an enchanting vegetable garden in the confines of her apartment and concocts magical herbal teas for her patients which transport them deep into their dreams, helping them confront their inner conflicts and daily anxieties. Paul's meeting with Madame Proust sets the young man on a journey of self-discovery that ultimately changes his life forever. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Reviews (3)
Unfortunately, I've seen too much in my lifetime cinematically to be much taken in by a conciliatory human comedy about the clash of canned ossification and independent vibrancy within the space of a single house and a park. Moreover, in such a conciliatory form, with its timid attempts at humor that give the impression they were written during filming and the actors weren’t too enthralled. The potential for comedy was exhausted for me at "fuck le menuet"; the potential for poignant drama had been exhausted some years prior. But the opening shot is great.
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A beautiful, well-made French film in the vein of Amélie. Here, however, the focus is on the character of Paul and Attila Marcel. He and the beautiful shots of both the real and the dream world are mixed in such an exquisite manner that it will make you fall head over heels for the actor playing Paul. Guillaume Gouix is really great and believe me, once you learn what’s what in the film, you’ll be really looking forward to the ending. In fact, not only looking forward, but also impatiently anticipating the denouement. And you can count on it not to disappoint you in any way. This melancholically beautiful story was something I simply couldn’t pass on.
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It's like a French fairy-tale fantasy set in the real world of today, which seems to follow in the footsteps of Amelie. But it doesn't have a strong storyline, just a few fairly good ideas, and here and there a character who manages to captivate with their behavior, performance, or simply with something. But overall, it's not that good.
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