Odette Toulemonde (2007)

This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

i know i wasted 90 mins of my life.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

French cinema distinguishes itself, and let's admit, sometimes annoys because of excessive intellectualism and philosophical commitment, but often stands out for products like Odette Toulemonde, having no pretence of intellectualism, but being just enjoyable, naif, and truly lovely. The overall atmosphere is one of being out of reality (although some prosaic hints are to be found, for example in the difficulty of a single-mother to raise her children, in a context of material difficulties), of having one's head in the clouds, never wanting to come down to the earth, of living in a kind of space-time suspension, pervaded by the, maybe, too easily optimistic trust that everything will work out, in the end.To be honest, some interesting messages are not to be understated: don't take yourself too seriously, happiness will come when you really believe in it and are ready to accept it, it is your attitude to life that makes things good or bad, and not vice versa. Not to mention that irrational miracle which is reading, that sound and deep communion created by the writer between the reader and the fiction, capable of shifting us away from reality and moving us to another, unreal but more emotionally authentic world.But what really gets the viewer is the delicate and odd character of Odette, naif but intelligent enough to understand that life is a miracle to be tasted and enjoyed and that there's no point in persisting in feeling pessimistic: just smile and life will smile at you.

In some ways a remake of Amelie, in others very different indeed, with a layer of fantasy added to the surrealism of the earlier movie, and a Dennis Potter tendency to break into song at the drop of a hat, or even a feather. In Odette's case it is the songs of Josephine Baker which inspire her. Unlike Amelie, Odette is no longer young, but a widowed middle aged mother of two late teens, who struggles to keep her head above water. She is in no way chic, in fact quite the reverse, with a serious taste for all things kitsch. She is not from Montmartre, not even Parisienne, but a resident of Charleroi, a Belgian city south of Brussels famous only for its heavy industries of coal and steel. Style points seriously lacking in her life, and escapism into trashy fiction is what keeps her going.Then when she least expects it, her life changes, and to tell any more would be a spoiler. Cynics amongst us may hate it, but the journey she travels as a result is reaffirming of optimism in life, and tells a story that wealth and fame are illusory bubbles, and that those who chase them are in for a surprise when they burst.Watching it I was reminded of Adrian Henri's beautiful little poem, with the line "Love is a fan club with only two fans". Watch it.

For those of you who came in late (any Phantom comic fans out there) Alliance Francaise and Palace Cinemas each in Australia put on a French film festival each year in Feb/March. This year it's 436 screenings nationwide with 37 movies and documentaries on offer.For me the gem of the festival was Odette Toulemonde starring Catherine Frot who was in last years The Page Turner and is quite a well known French actress.The Palace Cinema festival booklet describes this film as a joy. That would be understating the fact. I can't work out how I missed getting onto Frot before this. She is a delight, the other actors and characters in this are a delight. It's sort of like an "Italian for Beginners" feeling but French made. There's parts in here that rival the Notebook. Like many romantic comedies this film could be seen time and time again.Highly recommended... I give it 10/10. Catherine Frot is about 52. She has some moves and dancing in this movie that would make an African American envious. Great music with a bit of Josephine Baker going on (a fabulous soundtrack) and Catherine you are quite a mover in character shaking your bootie.Odette, her personality and outlook on life are a pure delight. I read recently a short article by a woman who finally realized that men do in fact like to sleep with women. Yes that's true. We men can never be sure if women in fact like to sleep with men. Some make it quite clear, others not so. But putting aside the physical, many men like or are really seeking to get close to a woman or be in her world. So here we have Odette doing her ironing in her petticoat, there's a knock at the door and she answers it. It's the simple things like this, the old Renault 10, her positive outlook on life that make this film so joyful. How could any man not be drawn to Odette.I might be late getting onto Frot as an actress but now the pleasure of seeking out her earlier films awaits.I confess to being a big fan of the French soprano Yvonne Printemps (1894-1979) who was on the French, English and American stage from around 1910 onwards,a founding member of the Parisian Comedy Francaise and an actress in about 6 or 7 films including "The 3 Waltzes" and "Paris Waltz" both available on Ebay on video or direct from the Bel Canto Society. More on her filmography at http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0697869/ So the French have done "La Vie en Rose" with Marion Coutlhard documenting Edith Piafs life. My great hope is now the French have this under their belt that they will move onto a real star like Printemps.In Catherine Frot we have someone the right age (52 born 1956) about the same age as Printemps when she made Paris Waltz. Frot could do Printemps with her little finger, she could mimic Printemps mannerisms in an instant. I just hope someone in the French Film industry can see this. First Frot morphing Josephine Baker. Next stop Printemps!

Erich Emmanuel Schmitt is best known for adapting other people's work for both stage and screen rather than for Original Screenplays so an Original for his directorial debut is something of a rarity. As it happens I saw one of his most recent adaptations on the Paris stage when he took Noel Cowards 'Private Lives' and 'adapted' it to within an inch of its life so much so that what Coward wrote as a duet plus two thankless supporting roles emerged at the pen of Schmitt as a full-blown quartet. Armed with this information I had mixed feelings about Odette toulemonde even though he had obviously hedged his bets bu casting Catherine Frot in the lead. When she puts her mind to it no one can do Adorable like Frot (see Un Air de famille or Les Soeurs fachees) just as when she puts her mind to it no one can do Evil like Frot (see Vipere au poing) in short she's one of the best in the business: were she to read this fulsome praise she may have trouble keeping her feet on the ground which is precisely her problem as Odette; she is prone to levitating at odd moments from sheer joie de vivre though it may help if, as she does, you know a guy who resembles Jesus Christ, thinks nothing of walking on water and when last seen was walking up a hill carrying on his shoulders a large block of wood. A mother with teenage children but no husband Odette is ripe for romance and finds it via best selling novelist Albert Dupontel, as unhappy in this branch of the Arts as he was when he played a concert pianist for Daniel Thompson in Fauteuils d'orchestre. With actors like Frot and Dupontel - and Frot lip-synching Josephine Baker for good measure - you have to work at it to turn out something from the Kennel Club and Schmitt pulls off a hugely entertaining debut.