Review: POPULAIRE

ENGLISH VERSION---

You may have missed this little French film. We almost did. It was part of a Festival and it had good word-of-mouth so our local theaters gave it a run of it's own. This is our review of 'POPULAIRE'.

By Edgar Perez, Editor in Chief.

The story takes place in a small town in France during 1959. Our heroine's name is 'Rose Pamphyle', played by Déborah François, a shy, simple girl with a noticeable diamond in the rough quality.

She likes typing in an old typewriter, and also shows potential to being great at it. When she goes to the big city searching for a job as a secretary (the "it" job at the time) she meets businessman 'Louis Échard', played by Romain Duris.

Rose doesn't have the secretary profile Louis is looking for, but that doesn't stop her from proving she has a different and remarkable talent- she starts typing on his typewriter and he is immediately astonished by her speed and precision. He hires her and enters her in a typewriting contest.

The plot thickens when a regional competition isn't enough and they go after the national championship. Rose moves into his home so that he can train her and also help her true potential.

Rose's good looks and charm, as well as Louis' appeal and self-confidence will make the path to their goals tougher because when two people spend too much time together, more times than not, love will flourish among them.

Analysis and opinion:

I could write a novel as long as 'War and Peace' to describe all the technical and narrative problems in this movie. But, I won't this time.

Truth is that even with all those mishaps, it has something others don't: heart.

Rose's character is simply adorable. She isn't just a pretty face either, she takes out her claws when she has to and doesn't mess around either.

Louis, though in a much smaller part, does well as a good protagonist, which helps the audience understand why the love plot develops as it does.

Joining the cast are 'Marie' and 'Bob', played by Bérénice Bejo and Shaun Benson respectively, Louis' best friends who will do everything they can to help our heroes find more ways to connect than just work and national championships.

The director did a fine job, too. The film develops with the same tone throughout- a light comedy with just the right amount of romance to keep it from being a chick-flick.

The editing wasn't great however. About 80 minutes in the story begins to rush and the interest created by the first two acts fades a little too much. In fact, the ending, though acceptable, lacks emotion- you aren't sure if it was what you wanted to see and, to make things worse, leaves you unsatisfied.

That being said, it would be as mistake to ignore the movie's attributes: characters with opposite personalities, a romantic and fun story about something unusual or rarely seen on film (though I should mention it is a remake).