L'Écume des jours

A book very hard to transfer to the screen;Charles Belmont was an ambitious director who has fallen into oblivion ,like his movie:it does not recreate the bayou atmosphere and the jazzy feel ;but it is a honorable attempt,saved by the actors ,all excellent.

Jacques Perrin,with his youthful looks and his beaming smile, is ideally cast as Colin;Marie France Pisier,a cerebral actress, is at ease here ;and Alexandra Stewart ,as aristocratic Isis ,is eye candy (but not enough on the screen).Only Bernard Fresson,too "working class looking" is miscast.Last but not least,Claude Pieplu (and his high pitched voice)appears as a physician;and the delightful voice of Delphine Seyrig is the microphone when Colin becomes "announcer".

This is not an easy movie ,some may feel like giving up before the end ;they shouldn't.

A new version is to be filmed , starring Audrey Tautou.

What bothered me the most is that the film doesn't respect the book. Some important passages are modified, others simply deleted while some other less important ones are present.

The pace is really slow, you fall asleep, you don't get the fun and appeal of the book.

Likewise, the relationship between Nicolas and Colin is quite far from the book and we don't really get attached to any character.

The casting is, however, quite good. Charismatic actors and pretty girls. However, we feel that they are not giving everything and could have better fit into their roles.

The book is difficult to understand, but this film even more so.

In short, not at all essential to see, even to see the universe in images since it does not represent the book at all.