This week's film was Potiche, a French-Belgian film set in 1977, which went the rounds of the film festivals last year but, as far as I know, didn't come away with any awards. Most of our reviewers rated this film B (25 out of 47 forms returned). Overall score was 86%.
The online French dictionary I looked up defines Potiche as:
1. grand vase en porcelaine
2. au sens figuré personne dont le rôle est plus "décoratif" que fonctionnel.
So the translation to Trophy Wife seems appropriate if not quite so poetic as the French.
What a wonderfully atmospheric portrayal of the seventies!. When one of those old films comes on the telly you get that particular sensation of watching a VHS tape that's seen better days. There's a slightly less sharp depiction of form and a garish representation of colour. You will know, of course, that we have the best projection equipment money can buy so this had to be intentional. And then there was the scenery and sets. The nightclub scene in particular was a fine parody of seventies style and manners. And if Depardieu and Deneuve were not exactly John Travolta & co in Saturday Night Fever, they danced with the same sense of grandeur. Of course I knew that the film was made recently because Belle de Jour certainly didn't look like that – even in 1977 - and Gerard Depardieu was a few kilos lighter, but I was really surprised to learn that the film was made as recently as 2010.
The film was based on a stage play of the same name and adapted by the director with a brief to satirise French politics. If you're interested, there's more detail in the Wikipedia entry here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potiche and in the Telegraph interview referenced below.
I must say I was disappointed by the ending which I felt lacked resolution. Perhaps that's the French way. An English or Hollywood version would, I'm sure, have ended differently. It seemed to me that the political campaign at the end had been tacked on. And, in fact, the Wikipedia entry reveals that the original play ended with the return of the husband to the factory. Perhaps that's a difference between French and English attitudes? (Discuss.)
Trivial fact from wikipedia: Clips from the film have recently been appearing in "trailers" subtitled by Orange, with all the dialogue reworded to be about mobile phones, in order to illustrate how phones can ruin a film.
Here are the comments of our own reviewers – yourselves:
| A | Excellent – great film |
| A | |
| A | Very good – one of the best all season |
| A | Très amusant! Je l'aime beaucoup! |
| A | Funny and charming! |
| A | Très amusant |
| A | Great fun! |
| A | Very enjoyable, very French. |
| A | Witty, charming film. |
| A | Uplifting |
| A | |
| A | |
| A | Hooray for French cinema! Light and frothy on the surface but tackling some serious issues as an undercurrent. Great! |
| A | Nothing extraordinary but still, as might be expected, A*, A-list entertainment. (Not even knocked a notch by the closing sing-song.) |
| A | |
| A | Entertaining French romp. |
| A | |
| A | EXCELLENT – BEST FILM OF THE SEASON |
| B | |
| B | |
| B | A feel-good film. Well done all successful women! |
| B | |
| B | A fun, relaxing film with women put in a positive light. |
| B | A typically French farce depicting the difference in attitude towards women. |
| B | Entertaining, and a film with a message in it. |
| B | GOOD FUN! |
| B | |
| B | |
| B | Delightful feminist comedy. Catherine Deneuve magnificent. |
| B | - enjoyable, light-hearted; Deneuve is always fabulous - but Depardieu is going to seed a little! |
| B | |
| B | |
| B | |
| B | INTELLIGENT & FUNNY |
| B | Entertaining and enjoyable. Very good direction and Catherine Deneuve is/was superb. |
| B | |
| B | |
| B | |
| B | Good fun. Très amusant |
| B | Good entertainment. |
| B | Light and entertaining. Nice songs. |
| B | Fun, entertaining. Lost its way a little. |
| B | Catherine Deneuve excellent – plenty of sparkle between her and Depardieu – plenty of joie de vivre! |
| C | |
| C | Ah the old Renault 20.What a car! |
| C | |
| C | Disappointing. |
Plenty of on-line stuff about this one. The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw reviewed it twice and gave it 4 stars: http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/jun/16/potiche-review
Tim Robey on the Telegraph reviewed it (4 stars): http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/filmreviews/8580077/Potiche-review.html
and also has an interesting interview with the director: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/8565886/Catherine-Deneuve-a-trophy-wife-Mais-si.html
IMDB users gave it 6.6 out of 10: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1521848/
Rotten Tomatoes 83%: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/potiche/
Radio Times 3 stars: http://www.radiotimes.com/film/cb4qx/potiche-(2010)
A feel good film, with excellent perfomances from both lead actors.
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