Paris pieds nus

"Lost In Paris (2016 release from France/Belgium; 83 min. original title "Paris pieds nus") brings the story of Fiona and Dom. As the movie opens, Fiona gets a letter from her 88 yr. old aunt Martha, who's lived in Paris for decades but now cries out for help. Fiona does not hesitate, says goodbye to her Canadian village in the snowy mountains, and off she goes. When she gets to Paris, her aunt Martha is not home, forcing Fiona onto the streets and into all sorts if (mis)adventures. In a parallel story, we get to know Dom, a homeless guy who lives in a small tent on the banks of the Seine and finds the backpack that Fiona just lost. That very first night, by chance they meet in a restaurant... To tell you more of the plot would spoil tour viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

First of all, this movie is a labor of love of Fiona Gordon and Dominique Abel, who co-direct, co-produce, co-write and co-star in this movie. Here they bring a series of funny scenes, using a physical and visual kind of humor that is reminiscent of another age (Jacques Tati, of course, and many others), and which has become all but extinct in this day and age. The use of both the Paris Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower is done in a refreshing way. The movie clips by at a surprisingly fast tempo. But in the end it's all about the interplay between Fiona and Dom.

The movie opened recently without any pre-release hype or marketing at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati. I figured this would not be playing very long. The Tuesday early evening screening where I saw this at was attended okay but not great (less than 10 people). But I'll tell you what: almost everyone (including myself) laughed out loud on many occasions, and seemed to enjoy themselves. If you are in the mood for a physical and visual comedy the like of which we rarely get to see anymore, I readily recommend you check out "Lost In Paris", be it in the theater, on VOD or eventually on VD/Blue-ray.

I can only agree with the previous reviewer "One of best French / English movies I've ever seen." With a refreshing style this film had me laughing with guffaws and belly laughs within minutes from scene 2 right through to the end. The plot was simple and the principle characters Fiona Gordon, Emmanuelle Riva and Dominique Abel were a delight. Although the plot was simple it was embedded with amusing intrigue which ran and ran. Very well constructed, extremely funny and I will happily watch it again and again.

.. just what did happen to those socks?

Comedy has many faces (verbal, farcical, deadpan, regressive, good- natured, satiric, nonsensical and more..., certain forms of humor overlapping each other in the same work) and I love them all. But I need to recognize I have a soft spot for a very special kind of "make'em laugh" movies, those engineered by Tati, Etaix, Suleiman, Iosseliani and their likes, among whom Abel & Gordon, the co-directors, co-writers, co- producers and co-stars of "Lost in Paris".

Like the former mentioned, the Belgian clown and his Canadian-born partner (Dominique Abel & Fiona Gordon have been partners since the 1980s) are not content to tread the usual paths of "funny movies", they manage on the contrary to create an offbeat universe of their own which they inhabit in a highly unusual way. Whether in "L'Iceberg", "Rumba", "The Fairy" or the present "Lost in Paris", they form an improbable couple, each - and in their own way - out of synch with their physical and social environment. In their last opus, Dominique Abel is Dom, a happy-go-lucky homeless guy who has pitched his tent on an artificial island in the middle of the River Seine. A distant cousin of Chaplin's eternal tramp, Dom equates poverty with liberty: he eats exclusively the food of the nearby luxury restaurant (yes, picked up from its garbage cans, but still!), he smokes the best cigarette brands (okay, just butts gathered from the sidewalk, but still!), the lot. And as is the case for Charlie, poverty does not make him an angel : although never rotten to the core, Dom can be selfish, disrespectful or unpleasant. As for Fiona Gordon, she plays an ageless Canadian librarian from the Far North (where it is not recommended to open doors to the outside, the object of two hilarious gags). After landing in Paris pack on back, events beyond her control soon cause her to be stranded alone in the big city. The helpless uptight spinster will of course be taken care of by Dom, but, as can be guessed, in a very singular manner. Such an odd pairing cannot but generate lots of funny unexpected situations of which the characters get out through gags of all kinds, mainly sight or poetical comic effects.

An excellent additional idea makes "Lost in Paris" even better than Abel & Gordon's first three efforts, namely the choice of Emmanuelle Riva, the famous actress ("Hiroshima mon amour", "Thérèse Desqueyroux", "Amour"), as Fiona's aunt. Known for her grave, intellectual, dramatic roles, Riva was also, unnoticed by those who did not mix with her in real life, a very cheerful person who hated taking herself too seriously. Who could then play eccentric old Martha better than her? The answer is obvious : nobody else..., but someone had to think of it! Also noteworthy is the participation of Pierre Richard, as Riva's old flame and dance partner. They have a delicious scene together where, sitting on a bench in a cemetery, they merrily allow their legs and feet to follow in step with a happy music of their golden years.

If you have nothing against imagination, fantasy and unusual gags (which I made a point of not describing not to spoil your pleasure of discovering them), this charming extravaganza should normally delight you as much as it did me. It is at least the worst thing I wish for you.

Every now and then a film comes along that defies conventional genre labels. From its enticing title and zany opening scenes, the independent French-Belgium film Lost in Paris (2017)teases the senses with its mix of vaudeville/burlesque comedy and circus slapstick, all interleaved with a drama on ageing and, of course, a romance. Like all circus-style performance, any semblance of a story only serves to join the non-stop physical comedy into a narrative whole.

A timid librarian in Canada, Fiona (Fiona Gordon) has always dreamt of going to Paris. One day she learns that her 88-year old aunt Martha (Emmanuele Riva) has run away from her Paris home because the authorities want her in aged care. In Canadian Mountie style, she packs her knapsack and flies to France. Searching the streets of Paris, she meets Dom (Dominique Abel), a comic tramp keen to assist as well as help himself to whatever he can, The various adventure skits play out as if on a vaudeville stage but with Parisian scenery.

With a storyline as thin as this, you may wonder what holds the film together. Every scene contains a sight gag; some are downright corny, others whimsically cute. Like a door opens during a Canadian blizzard and everyone tilts forty-five degrees; Martha and her long-lost lover on a park bench dance only with their feet in a too-cute metaphor of synchronicity; and the top-heavy toppling into the Seine makes any cinema erupt in laughter. It's wonderful that anyone still makes films like this.

The three principals are more caricatures than people, both in appearance and performance. While this risks emotional disengagement from the cast, it also means comedy entertainment takes precedence over all else, unless you want to dig deeper. After all, life is offering the gawky-spinster Fiona a bigger purpose and a chance at love; fate calls on the vagabond Dom to rise above his lot; and Martha's mischief proves that age is just a number. But these are incidental messages to the film's unequivocal pursuit of laughter.

Comedy plays a serious role in absurdism by making us ask "why not?". Why shouldn't these three gentle misfits have some fun and why shouldn't a film resurrect the styles of Charlie Chaplin, The Three Stooges, or Laurel and Hardy? In these troubled times, we take life far too seriously.

I need more Fiona and Dom. I've seen all of their movies which is only a few and it's not enough.If you haven't seen them, please do so. I do wish they made movies earlier in their career. Their newest film is another enjoyable ride leaving me wanting more. It's all there .. humor, love, cleverness, love, dancing, hope, even a political jab combining homelessness and what the Statue of Liberty represents. They provide relief from a world with too many dark moments. The world needs Fiona and Dom.