Para todos los gustos

Yes, it is a great film. Not all the directors achieve to combine well the stories. "The Taste of others" must be a model from this point of view. It has moved me to buy and read again Ibsen's "Hedda Gabbler". A good comedy, plenty of touching moments. 9 points and the Oscar for this little French jewel.

A rich but uncultured provincial businessman falls for a local actress and pushes himself into her circle of arty friends. Initially they see him as a Philistine and treat him as a joke, but their attitudes change when he becomes a potential buyer for their work. Meantime, his interior designer wife is forcing her chintzy styles onto his sister who has moved in nearby, and his bodyguard and his driver are having to deal with their own shortcomings in their amorous encounters with a local barmaid.

The interwoven sub-plots, the intelligent characterisation and the witty dialogue make this a sophisticated drama in the best sense. The film indulges neither the shallow bourgeoisie nor the supercilious bohemians, but all the characters are real and believable.

If the plot offers no easy solutions to the complex needs and insecurities of its characters, it does at least show each of them, in his or her own way, learning something significant about themselves and about other people. The two leading characters in particular come to see each other in a more accepting light, and a direction for the future is opened up.

The confidence, intelligence and humour with which director Agnes Jaoui presents these tangled lives are a pleasure to experience, and she offers a refreshing and very European alternative to the more clichéd characterisation favoured by Hollywood.

Why can't American directors make movies like this? It's quiet, calm, small, understated, beautifully paced (read: slow and leisurely) and thought-provoking. The premise of the movie is not whether opposites attract (which would be nothing new) but whether our preconceptions often keep us closed down to new people and new experiences. With some gentle nudges, the characters in this lovely movie take deep breaths, look again at people and situations, and see what had been missed before. And yes, it does make us think about how art enriches us and helps us abandon the old preconceptions. Jean-Pierre Bacri is, as usual, splendid, making himself mildly repulsive and appealing, almost simultaneously (though he ends up definitely on the appealing side of the line.) How does he do it? And it's a treat to know that the actress playing the younger woman, Manie, is both the film's director and screenwriter. If you want to know what I mean about pacing, just watch the main character, Clara, as she comes out of cafe after having been stood up for an English lesson. An American director would have cut the scene as she leaves the cafe and bustles across the street in the rain, annoyed and wound up tight as a drum. But in this movie, the camera follows Clara as she walks in the rain down a long street - the shot just lasts forever, and you can see all of Clara's irritation dissipating and turning into loneliness. It's a beautiful shot.

Castella isn´t very happy with his life, although his firm runs quite well. He´s tired, and unlucky with his wife. There are his bodyguard Franck, and his driver Bruno, who also got problems in their relationships. But one day Castella falls in love with Clara, his new business english teacher. He tries to change his life for her...

"Le gout des autres" is Agnes Jaoui´s debut as a director. She wrote the script together with her husband Jean Pierre Bacri (Castella) and also plays the role of Manie the waitress, Francks girlfriend. I have seen both together three years ago in "On connait la chanson", a wonderful musical-comedy. After watching "Le gout des autres" I felt like walking on clouds. Honestly, I LOVE french comedies for this! Irresistible, charming, enchanting!

Magnificent piece of actors' work, the movie unites a set of characters elaborately put together, like a human puzzle, and the result is nothing short of spectacular. The quality of this script allows us to rethink everything about the characters we take for granted, and there is always a surprise around the corner, which, for the viewer, is one rewarding experience, since the story is so simple, and yet so complex. At the end, we won't believe our eyes - talk about character arcs! Rest assured, this is a movie always worth seeing and one of the best actors' movies I have seen for years.