½
France 2012
Starts July 18, 2013
Directed by: Jérôme Enrico
Writing credits: Jérôme Enrico, Bianca Olsen, Laurie Aubanel, Cyril Rambour
Cast: Bernadette Lafont, Carmen Maura, Dominique Lavanant , Jean-Baptiste Anoumon, Paco Boublard
Length: 87 minutes
This very French comedy is named for its central character ‘Paulette’ (Lafont), an 80 year-old, tough, misanthropic widow and former pastry chef. She lives in one of the rundown and problem-ridden Parisian ‘banlieues’ and – much to her displeasure – door-to-door with immigrants whom she refers to in rather ‘politically incorrect’ terms. But then: this crabby old bat doesn’t treat her friends and family any differently either. While she dishes out her mean remarks and prejudices with a straight face, the situations are often so absurd that even she would laugh if she could see herself.
Paulette is barely making ends meet and just when she is about to loose everything, voilá, a chunk of Hashish literally falls in her lap. Once she finds out what it is and how much it is worth, she establishes a thriving ‘dealership’ in no time at all, putting the competition in her ‘hood’ to shame and her finances back in order. Accidentally she and her girlfriends – who have become partners in this venture - discover a creative way to package the drugs and sell them out of Paulette’s home; now a bizarre and illustrious mix of people that she previously wouldn’t have given the time of day, starts to frequent her apartment.
It’s best to disregard the questionable morals of the story (like: “the end justifies the means”), even the social criticism intended by the director (Enrico), and let yourself be entertained by this amusing fairytale. ()