El gusto de los otros

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!

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

This debut for Jaoui (playing the role of Manie) as a director is a great comedy. Hilarious, but not over the top. 'Le Goût des Autres' has some very sharp dialogues filled with subtle jokes and delivered by a perfect cast. It was no surprise to learn afterwards that the same screenwriters wrote the script for 'Un Air de Famille' by Cedric Klapisch, another French comedy at its best. But this one is without a doubt one of the most enjoyable movies of the year. A well deserved Oscar-nominee for 'best foreign language film'.

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.

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.