Eine Frau mit berauschenden Talenten

Whether you call it La daronne, Mamma Weed or The Godmother, Jean-Paul Salomé's screen adaption of Hannelore Cayre's award winning novel is a sight to behold. At times satirical, sometimes serious, a romp as ridiculous as it is romantic, La daronne has created a film about liars that is at all times honest. A true genre bending experience that defies tonal expectations and seems deeply intent on sending its message to all watchers, whether they want it or not. A message as heart-warming as it is controversial. We are all just people.

At its core, this film is a crime thriller, following the exploits of a police interpreter who comes from a family of drug runners, being given the opportunity and choosing to break bad. It runs through all the noir and dramatic tropes. A by the number's cops and robber's tale, with doomed romances and violent standoffs abound. What makes The Godmother unique is that while it uses every cliches in the book, it subverts every one of them. Showing a truly honest reflection of reality, viewers are treated to the rarely seen truth behind the criminal mythos. No one really knows what they are doing. The police aren't just relentless machines of justice, hunting down their hapless prey, they are regular old people, just doing a job and trying to help. Drug runners aren't violent perverts, they are often just kids trying to get by. Even those higher up on the chain don't sit around a warehouse smoking cigars and plotting evil. They take care of their families and hang out with their friends. They run a business the same way any regional manager does. Even our protagonist (Expertly played by Isabelle Huppert), for all that she runs circles around the police, keeps the gangs in line, and makes herself into a criminal boss to be feared, she is just a middle-aged mother, trying to keep my family together and deal with the same life struggles as everyone else.

Jean-Paul Salomé is unafraid to let each situation play out with brutal honesty. He lets interactions become awkward and strained. Romantic gestures go unnoticed and miscommunication runs rampart. There are no seamless handovers, each side walking away without counting the money. There is no honour among thieves and super geniuses don't hang around dark alleys selling weed. The crime is still crime, people get hurt and their actions are inexcusable, but that doesn't mean they aren't understandable. The Godmother walks the tightrope of showing each side of the law, warts and all, without glorifying or vilifying either. There are no heroes or villains in this story, just police and criminals, going about their lives, trying to get though the day.

There are many who take offense to the idea that the people in jail are just as human and relatable as them. Those people are unlikely to enjoy Rialto Distribution's latest offering. For everyone else, or even just those willing to go in with an open mind, The Godmother is a funny, sad, ridiculous look at realism, and well worth your time.

The chameleon and always infallible Isabelle Huppert becomes a queen of drug trafficking among the traffickers of Paris in this ¨police comedy¨ or ¨thriller with hints of humor¨ depending on how you look at it . In the film Huppert plays a Patience Portefeux , a discreet translator in charge of phone surveillance for a narcotics police unit , from the Parisian anti-drug squad and whose chief - Hippolyte Girardot- turns out to be her lover . She goes over to the other side when, by some twist of fate, a loot of hashish falls into her hands . Isabelle Huppert is 50% Cop 50% Dealer 100% Pure !

Based on the novel by Hannelore Cayre , the story centers around Patience Portefeux, an underpaid , overworked French-Arabic translator then she realizes she knows the mother of one of the drug dealers, Patience decides to cover for him and gets herself more and more deeply involved in the world of drug trafficking. Soon, she is using her insider knowledge and police resources to build her own crime network and earns the name Mama Weed. Mama Maria or Mama Weed offers a sharp look into the world of drug trafficking, skillfully blending irony , drama and suspense. Huppert gives a splendid acting as a translator working for the police gets involved in the other side of drug dealing . Huppert explained that "this character is quite a gift for an actress" , she is Patient, a widow with unfortunate life who becomes a double agent, a role out of the ordinary , which was created by the novelist Hannelore Cayre based on his own experiences as a criminal lawyer.

It displays an intriguing and adequate musical score by notorious French composer Bruno Coulais. As well as atmospheric , adequate cinematography by cameraman Julien Hirsch . The motion picture was well directed and written -along with Hannelore Cayre- by Jean Paul Salomé . Craftsman Jean-Paul Salomé served as president of the ARP (the French Authors', Directors', and Producers' Guild) , has won several awards and has an interesting and prestigious career , first working as a trainee for director Claude Lelouch, who hired him during the production of his film ¨Bolero¨. He went on to direct two documentaries, ¨L'Heure d'aimer¨ in 1983 and ¨La Petite Commission¨ in 1984, both of which were selected at numerous film festivals . After making his first feature-length film for television , he directed the feature film ¨Les Braqueuses¨ in 1993. Five years later, he directed ¨Tourist Trap¨, which tells the story of a group of tourists who get lost in the middle of nowhere in the United States. In 2000, he directed a new cinematic adaptation of the myth of Belphegor,¨Belphegor, Phantom of the Louvre¨. In 2004, he directed an updated adaptation of the iconic tale of the gentleman thief , ¨Arsène Lupin¨, followed, in 2007, by ¨Female Agents¨with a French star-studded cast . And¨The Chameleon¨, which was shot in the United States, was released in 2010. His most recent feature, ¨Playing Dead¨ was released in December 2013. And this ¨Mama Weed¨ (2020) at his best . Rating : 7/10 . The yarn will appeal to Isabelle Huppert fans.

Isabelle Huppert - just the name alone should be enough for some to not even think twice about how they will feel about this movie. And she is really getting it - well done. Now morally speaking there are things that will be going on, that not everyone will agree with. Maybe that is the wrong way of putting it. But you'll know what I mean when you see the movie (or even the trailer I assume).

The movie is very well thought of and is quite the entertaining ride - while the subject matter is serious and there are certain scenes that are on the violent side - overall the tone is that of a comedy. Acting overall is top notch, there are certain things that may feel like an easy way out (problems that almost literally disappear to a degree) ... and the ending is something that while nice, is nothing that is as amazing or gives the movie an extra push ... but maybe that is nitpicking. Just enjoy the thriller ride with a lot of laughs (and still some social message hidden in there)

Let me start by saying that I enjoyed the movie! I thought the plot was fresh and unique, and Izabelle Ruppert was magnificent. Considering she was 66 at the time of filming, she also looks amazing!

Now about what have not worked for me in this movie. At the beginning, the movie presented us with moral philosophical dilemmas, and as I started to become emotionally involved with the characters, it made a 180 degree turn and became a comedy. Don't get me wrong, I love comedies, and there were some really funny moments where I laughed out loud, but I honestly struggled the whole movie and with how to perceive it, as a comedy or as a crime thriller. I definitely could not relate to the main character anymore and really could not root for her. Honestly, at the end I was rooting against the mama weed hoping the logic/simple deduction would prevail.

Other things that bothered me are the plot holes that made police look really really stupid and drug dealers naive and funny! Because of that, you could not really call this movie a crime thriller, even though there were all the ingredients for it. In other words, there were no thrilling moments to make me sit at the edge of my seat and bite my nails. As soon as there were some signs for it, scenes were turned into a joke. Again, this was due to the problem of mixing the jenres. It would have been better if the movie stayed with the comedy crime theme without involving very poignant and serious moments.

The movie has touched many important topics, including relationships with elderly parents, immigrants trying to survive to have a better live in a new country, but I almost felt like there could have been two movies made out of this one. See it for yourself!

As francophone movie was easy to follow. Plot had holes and some actions didnt make sense but overall liked it. It could be definitely better. Neighbors were cool they shouldve got more screen time. Not sure at the end it was one time only smart villain role playing for main charachter