CinemaSerf
7.0/10Apr 11, 2024
There's a scene in this film where a naked "Colin" (Romain Duris) is paid then sort of folded over a large pile of mud so his body can insulate and help the snails to breed! That might give you an idea as to the surreality of this comedic drama. He is a wealthy man with a pair of white leather brogues who, quite literally, have a life of their own. He lives in what looks like a converted, luxury, railway carriage together with his factotum "Nicolas" (Omar Sy) and a recently poached girlfriend "Chloé" (Audrey Tautou) who is dying of a rather peculiar disease involving her lungs and a flower. Desperate to save her, he discovers that the only way to do that is to keep her permanently surrounded by other fresh flowers - and so following the philosophy of his mentor "Jean-Sol Partre" he takes us on some daft adventures with animate gadgets and gizmos - some with human or animal characteristics that wouldn't have looked out of place in "City of Lost Children" (1995). I wasn't familiar with Boris Vian's original novel, but I did enjoy this engagingly fantastic adaptation by Michel Gondry and the chemistry between Duris and Tautou is enjoyable to watch as the story takes it's own sweet time to make any headway - in any sort of traditional sense. It's helped along enormously by the quirky score from Étienne Charry and the production looks like a great deal of thought has gone in to making it quite so eccentrically haphazard. I found the story itself less important than the characterisations and I'm usually a fan of Duris - so wasn't disappointed. It's not for everyone, but I liked (most of) it.
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