El gusto de los otros

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.

What a joy to find a film written and acted by Adults to inform and entertain Other Adults. Matrix-loving-popcorn heads can give this one a miss and hurry to the next American Pie infantalia. What a joy, too, to realize that the Cesars got it right this time around and handed this entry a bagful. There is so much to ENJOY here from the circular storyline - Castella owns a factory and employs a chauffeur and a bodyguard. His wife drags him to the theatre where a neice is appearing in 'Berenice', a French classic in verse. Castella is a complete philistine from the shoes up and would rather give the play a miss and come back for the curtain. BUT, surprise, surprise, playing the lead is Clara Davaux, a woman he had interviewed as an English teacher and dismissed without a second thought. Now, he sees her in a new light and falls in mid-life crisis. Clara drinks and eats in a bar where Manie works. Manie deals on the side. Castella drops in for a bite to eat with chauffeur and bodyguard. It seems that the chauffeur has had sex with Manie and does not remember. They resume their relationship whilst Castella now books English lessons from Clara like there's no tomorrow. The chauffeur introduces Manie to the bodyguard and before long he and Manie are in the sack as well. All roads lead back to Castella and after being attacked he winds up in Manie's bathroom for some tlc. By now he has declared his feelings for Clara and been deep-sixed, yet when she stars as Hedda Gabler she longs to see him in the audience. The acting is so perfect it makes your teeth ache. The scene where Castella reads Clara a poem he has written for her is painful to watch because it is written and acted with such honesty. Both writers - Jean-Pierre Bacri (Castella) and Agnes Jaoui (Manie), who also directed, have not flinched from writing scenes in which they come off the worse for wear. Of course, with the track record of Jaoui and Bacri - before this they wrote and starred in On Connait le Chanson and Un air de famille - you expect only the finest and that is what they deliver here, even Bacri's character name, Castella, has overtones of Bob Castella, the great pianist-composer who was, for decades, the accompanist for Yves Montand. I can only guess whether any homage was intended but whether or not it is just another bonus to an unforgettable film. This was Jaoui's debut as director and her second effort (working title: Comme d'un Image, is now in the Cutting Room. She's gonna have a tough time eclipsing this one but if she DOES ... 10/10

Let other users tell the story of this little, yet surprisingly success-growing movie. The title might say it all: every character tries to please someone else, in other words, tries to meet the taste of the others. Sadly, it seems a very difficult result to accomplish, since the fate of everyone is bound to solitude and misunderstanding. There seems to be one exception to the rule: surprisingly, it is the character that, for all the movie long, has been treated like the most foolish and disgusting (Castella). The end does not tell, we don't know whether he and his beloved, funny and complicated actress will meet. At least, he tried to change its life and, whilst trying to get closer to her (pretending to love art and theater), he discovers something deeper and true about himself. In this respect, a happy end would have been completely inconsistent with the movie and would not have added anything to the depiction of the characters. People get close only to lose each other, the director seems to say. The driver's girl will not come back from America, the barmaid and the former policeman are not corageous enough to make the first step. A fine written movie as it is rare to see these days (8/10).

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.

A slice of potentially real French life, elegantly portrayed with the believable people ('characters' is the wrong word) being eminently watchable. It's a witty comedy that plays as a tragedy. The excellent screenplay reveals itself hesitantly, but that is the charm. The audience joins the story in the middle and leaves it before the end. The subtle everyday conflict of clashing tastes born of different beliefs - and no few prejudices - may seem rather boring plot compared with the latest Hollywood caper, but it leaves a magnificent impression of social relevance. And if you have not experienced the culture of everyday France, pay attention to the focal point the cafe takes. A word of praise to the two main architects: co-author (Agnes Jaoui) who directs herself as the barmaid (Manie) and her coauthor (Jean-Pierre Bacri) who writes himself the somewhat awful role of Castella. I must look out for their other works.