Qui plume la lune?

Sophomore effort by Christine Carrière whose first film " Rosine" was outstanding.

As "Rosine " introduced an immature mother ,a misfit unable to take care of her fourteen -year-old girl who had to hold the role of a mother, "Qui plume La Lune ?" features a father whose wife died of cancer and who cannot get over it : he ,too,is a misfit whose two daughters are left to their own devices : the first scene shows a genial man playing ghosts with his offspring , but dad 's got a chip on his shoulder and he is no longer part of the society, he does not try to find another woman,he dreams when at work. Besides ,his mom is rather possessive ;the annoucement in the supermarket is revealing :" We're looking for Lucien (he is a forty-something) ;come to the nearest service desk!"

Everything rests on Darroussin's shoulders ;the director put the weight on him and he brilliantly carried it ; the results are inferior to "Rosine " though ; Christine Carrière's first effort introduced three strong characters and her screenplay was faultless throughout .Here we deal with two daughters and one mother who often get in the way ,when they are not downright embarrassing (the mother who tells she feels tires every time she wants to see her lover,one of the daughters having a go at prostitution !);In the second half , the story becomes sprawling ,the actors but Darroussin begin to overplay ....

But this wonderful actor,whose hangdog looks and wistful depression saves something from the wreckage,tells us so : there's someone up there who plucks the moon when it snows.

Beautiful, bitter-sweet little tale about a father, kept on his feet by his two daughters, after his wife/their mother, has died, manages to avoid all the tearjerker-pitfalls. His sorrow, the way they take care of him, the sisters' growing apart and him being both unable to be a strong parent and to let go of them, all shown in a very subtle yet funny way.

Darroussin specializes in sensitive roles and this is one of his best yet.

And the musical theme (Letkiss, a 60's novelty hit for a Finnish trumpeter(!)) lingered in my ears for weeks.