This really is a bundle of laughs, and they never stop from beginning to end. Daniel Auteuil, better known for serious roles, here shows himself as a superb comedian with good timing and just the right touch. Pierre Salvadori is the director, and after making this film he went on to direct Audrey Tautou, the Elf, twice, in PRICELESS (2006, see my review), and BEAUTIFUL LIES (2010, see my review). I noticed that this film was dedicated to the late Marie Trintignant, who died tragically in this year at the age of only 41. Salvadori had directed her in WHITE LIES (1998) and it is very touching that he remembered her with a tribute. The female lead in this film is the omni-present Sandrine Kiberlain, who seems to be in everything. As she so often does, she plays a slightly pathetic woman (in this case she is a young widow) who nevertheless sets various hearts on fire. The main story is carried to its full comic potential in a most amazing way. Auteuil is hastening through a park one dark night because he is late to work. He is the head waiter at a small brasserie called Chez Jean. (Although the name is fictitious, the film is shot in a real Paris restaurant, though I do not recognise it and cannot say where it is, unfortunately. It is not as small as Brasserie Balzar, one of my favourites, but small brasseries are really very rare nowadays in Paris, and I wish I could find this one.) He comes across a man about to hang himself from the branch of a tree. He rushes up and saves him. There is an old proverb that if you save a man's life, you then become responsible for him. Well, this film carries that thought to the most extreme extent possible. The man is played by José Garcia. He does a wonderful job and the character he creates is so exasperating, and also so comical, that it adds to the hilarity of the film immensely. Having saved Garcia, Auteuil is now stuck with him. Garcia has no money, no place to live, no job, and no prospects. So Auteuil takes him in and stands guard to stop him trying suicide again. He then gets him work in his own brasserie and commences a hilarious search for the girl who broke his heart by leaving him, who turns out to be Kiberlain, who runs a florist shop. The entanglements and complexities of the story, and their comical results, become increasingly astounding and it is impossible to stop laughing. Salvadori and four other people collaborated on the brilliant script, and the result has all the polish of a much-rewritten and perfected comedy masterpiece. The film has an unexpected ending, but with such a story, the unexpected is expected. Hats off to all concerned!
Review of Après Vous
