Wednesday 13 July 2011

Apres Vous - After You

2003 by Pierre Salvadori

This movie from Salvadori was done a few years before Hors de Prix, which is one of my all time favourite romantic comedy. So, it is like a learning curve for a director. Still, we can see that this man has a special talent for treating people and their relations.

Antoine, manager at an elite Paris restaurant, saves Louis from a suicide attempt. Louis is depressed as his girl friend Blanche walked out and the man cannot see any way out. Antoine tries to help him out, gets him a job in his restaurant as the Sommelier, and even tries to find out Blanche. Unknowingly, he too gets attracted to Blanche and smelling something wrong, Christine, Antoine's fiancee walks out. Split between Blanche and Louis Antoine is now falling into depression. 

This movie is not meant to be a comedy at all, but there are incredibly brilliant moments of fun. And in some of them, we are really not sure if we should be laughing or crying actually. Because the pain of Louis is so seviour, which we could feel, but the efforts of Antoine to help and bring him out of it, and the situations offer hilarious moments, like Antoine trying to make the suicidal note of Louis like a normal travel letter to his grand mother, the interview of Louis and so on. In fact, by the time Antoine is after Blanche, trying to create a way out for her to meet Louis, we do know that something will go wrong with this guy and in all this parts, the movie is simply brilliant.

I thought it faltered lightly at the latter half, with the change in the relationship between Antoine and Blanche. Antoine falling for Blanche could be allright, but how he got into depression was pushing the script a little too fast. And the same with the walking out of Christine, change of Louis's nature and the final climax too. Till the last 1/3rd, the movie was detailing everything and thereafter when everything was rushing out, it took some sheen of the script and a little bit of the movie too.

But apart from that, it is a wonderful watch and what a performance by the lead characters. Daniel Auteuil as Antoine can never fail and he once again proves me that he needs to be put up there with the best actors in the pantheon of amazing actors of the world. But it is Jose Garcia as Louis who infact steels the show, if I must pick somebody out.

A wonderful movie offering excellent moments, which falters slightly towards the end. But I am sure I would not mind watching it a few more times.