Looking round for the fun mutant monster pig French Horror flick Prey to give as an Easter gift to a friend,I decided to take a look at Prey's co-star Bérénice Bejo's credits.Spotting a credit that I had read a good amount of praise for from its screening on BBC4,I decided that it was a good time to find out how popular populaire is.
The plot-
France 1959:
Wanting to get away from working in the local family shop and the marriage that her dad is pushing her to do, Rose Pamphyle decides to leave the small town behind and go to the big city in order to apply for a job as secretary to insurance agency boss Louis Échard.Sitting at a typewriter for the interview, Pamphyle types up a letter at lightning speed,which leads to Échard hiring Pamphyle on the spot.
Seeing Pamphyle get into the rhythm of typing, Échard starts to think that Pamphyle could enter the contest/sport where the best (and fastest) typist in France is found. Initially afraid of joining the event, Pamphyle soon begins to type a new chapter in her life.
View on the film:
Darting across the screen in burning red hair,the gorgeous Bérénice Bejo gives a wonderful performance as Marie Taylor,whose icy queen bee Bejo melts away to reveal something much more delicate. Surrounding Pamphyle with praise as she enters the contest, Romain Duris gives a dashing performance as Échard by casing him in a shell of savvy confidence,which Duris cracks to show Échard wondering how far he should let his feelings for Pamphyle develop.Catching everyone by surprise with her typing skills,the stunning Déborah François gives an alluring performance as Pamphyle.Leaving the village behind, François gives Pamphyle a meek appearance which François splendidly peels away to paint Pamphyle with a fiery passion to do things her own way.
Set just as the French New Wave was kicking off,co-writer/(along with Daniel Presley and Romain Compingt) director Régis Roinsard & cinematographer Guillaume Schiffman largely stay away from New Wave flashes, (although they do find room for a small tribute to Hitchcock's Vertigo) to instead tap into the ultra glossy romantic Comedy/Drama movies of the early 60's.Backed by a sweet score from Emmanuel D'Orlando & "Robin" Coudert, (who is usually a fantastic Horror composer) Roinsard & Schiffman lavish the film with an immaculate,chic shine,from sweeping crane shots making the typing contest nail- biting set-pieces,to the ultra-stylised,candy coloured clothes and location vividly popping on the screen.
For the blossoming romance between Échard & Pamphyle,the screenplay by Roinsard/ Presley and Compingt keep things largely light and fluffy,but link some great rough edges to keep things from being too sickly sweet,as Pamphyle's attempt to find her own path is found with a delightfully quirky sense of humour.Sliding the genre into the 60's Rom/Drama's,the writers keep a run on the breezy romance with an exciting Sports lap,which along with impressively making type writing look like a stadium-worthy event (!) also leads to Pamphyle discovering how populaire she is.
The plot-
France 1959:
Wanting to get away from working in the local family shop and the marriage that her dad is pushing her to do, Rose Pamphyle decides to leave the small town behind and go to the big city in order to apply for a job as secretary to insurance agency boss Louis Échard.Sitting at a typewriter for the interview, Pamphyle types up a letter at lightning speed,which leads to Échard hiring Pamphyle on the spot.
Seeing Pamphyle get into the rhythm of typing, Échard starts to think that Pamphyle could enter the contest/sport where the best (and fastest) typist in France is found. Initially afraid of joining the event, Pamphyle soon begins to type a new chapter in her life.
View on the film:
Darting across the screen in burning red hair,the gorgeous Bérénice Bejo gives a wonderful performance as Marie Taylor,whose icy queen bee Bejo melts away to reveal something much more delicate. Surrounding Pamphyle with praise as she enters the contest, Romain Duris gives a dashing performance as Échard by casing him in a shell of savvy confidence,which Duris cracks to show Échard wondering how far he should let his feelings for Pamphyle develop.Catching everyone by surprise with her typing skills,the stunning Déborah François gives an alluring performance as Pamphyle.Leaving the village behind, François gives Pamphyle a meek appearance which François splendidly peels away to paint Pamphyle with a fiery passion to do things her own way.
Set just as the French New Wave was kicking off,co-writer/(along with Daniel Presley and Romain Compingt) director Régis Roinsard & cinematographer Guillaume Schiffman largely stay away from New Wave flashes, (although they do find room for a small tribute to Hitchcock's Vertigo) to instead tap into the ultra glossy romantic Comedy/Drama movies of the early 60's.Backed by a sweet score from Emmanuel D'Orlando & "Robin" Coudert, (who is usually a fantastic Horror composer) Roinsard & Schiffman lavish the film with an immaculate,chic shine,from sweeping crane shots making the typing contest nail- biting set-pieces,to the ultra-stylised,candy coloured clothes and location vividly popping on the screen.
For the blossoming romance between Échard & Pamphyle,the screenplay by Roinsard/ Presley and Compingt keep things largely light and fluffy,but link some great rough edges to keep things from being too sickly sweet,as Pamphyle's attempt to find her own path is found with a delightfully quirky sense of humour.Sliding the genre into the 60's Rom/Drama's,the writers keep a run on the breezy romance with an exciting Sports lap,which along with impressively making type writing look like a stadium-worthy event (!) also leads to Pamphyle discovering how populaire she is.