FROM THE BUCKET REVIEWS ARCHIVE
Review: Capsules: Happy, Happy & My Afternoons with Margueritte
Danny Baldwin · September 30, 2011
This weekend, the local art-house offers two new European films — a dizzying dramedy from Norway and a melodramatic confection from France (starring none other than everyone’s favorite plane-pisser, Gerard Dépardieu). Guess which one I liked better.
Happy, Happy / |
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Agnes Kittelsen is always Happy, Happy.
Every time a movie from Scandinavia is released here in the States, I reliably want to open my review by stating that “only the Scandinavians could have come up with this one.” The region’s contemporary filmic language is distinctive like none other — usually a sardonic blend of comedy and drama, infused with equal parts whimsy and graveness. (Needless to say, they’ve changed direction since Bergman.) While Happy, Happy–Norway’s entry for the Foreign Film Oscar–is not nearly as dark as the work of Scandinavia’s most widely known modern auteur, Aki Kaurismäki, it exists on a similar wavelength. The protagonist is Kaja (Agnes Kittelsen), a woman who remains blindly positive despite a rather miserable rural existence, which is defined by her lifeless husband Eirik’s (Joachim Rafaelsen) refusal to have sex (little does she know, he’s gay). But when an even screwier couple from the city move in next door, things get interesting. Happy, Happy becomes a pastiche of human behavior — Kaja and new neighbor Sigve (Henrick Rafaelsen, no relation to Joachim) have an affair, Eirik struggles to come to terms with his identity in hilariously deadpan fashion, and their young boys manifest the drama in everyday shenanigans. The movie deliriously shifts tones from minute to minute, but never at a detriment to the characters, who undergo legitimate transformations and never feel inauthentically quirky. Things wouldn’t be complete without random musical interludes of American gospel songs performed by a Norwegian male quartet. Even if you don’t connect with Happy, Happy, you won’t be able to deny that it is one of the most unique films of the year, a much surer bet than the latest Hollywood offering.
* * *
Happy, Happy (2011, Norway). Produced by Synnøve Hørsdal. Directed by Anne Sewitsky. Written for the screen by Mette M. Bølstad (dramaturge) and Ragnhild Trovoll (screenplay). Starring Agnes Kittelsen, Henrik Rafaelsen, Joachim Rafaelsen, Maibritt Saerens, Oskar Hernæs Brandsø, Ram Shihab Ebedy, and Heine Totland. Distributed by Magnolia Pictures. Rated R, with a running time of 85 minutes.
My Afternoons with Margueritte / |
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Gérard Depardieu practices his reading skills for Gisèle Casadesus in My Afternoons with Margueritte.
The title My Afternoons with Margueritte describes sessions in the park over which the eponymous 95-year-old woman (Gisèle Casadesus) teaches the 60-something, functionally illiterate oaf Germain (Gérard Depardieu) how to read with confidence. Germain was abused as a child by his mother–flashbacks ensue–so he latches on to Margueritte to experience the maternal love he always deserved but never received. As you might have guessed by now, the movie is filled to the brim with saccharine clichés that would be excessive even in Hollywood. But because co-writer/director Jean Becker takes risks with the details, My Afternoons with Margueritte mostly works. For instance, Germain has the anger issues that an untreated man of his traumatic upbringing would in real-life; as often as he is used as a pudgy, sympathetic narrative ploy, his fleeting moments of furor remind the audience that he is not a caricature. Depardieu’s fine performance helps. Likewise, Margueritte is not your average sweet old lady; only the Europeans would dare allow a near-centurion with thoroughly rotted teeth a lead role. Lastly, the movie’s technical aspects are top-notch — cinematographer Arthur Cloquet proves that artful CinemaScope is not simply the domain of blockbusters. Unfortunately, the film makes fatal missteps in its third act, when Germain takes artificially climactic steps to save his love affair with Margueritte when she is sent away to another nursing home. The final shot, especially, is downright patronizing of the audience, betraying the modest treasures that came before.
* * *
My Afternoons with Margueritte (2011, France). Produced by Louis Becker and Gérard Depardieu. Directed by Jean Becker. Written for the screen by Jean Becker and Jean-Loup Dabadie, based on the book by Marie-Sabine Roger. Starring Gérard Depardieu, Gisèle Casadesus, Maurane, Patrick Bouchitey, and Jean-François Stèvenin. Distributed by Cohen Media Group. Not rated, with a running time of 82 minutes.