Nem Parece Minha Irmã

This comedy of manners depicts too opposite sisters in a satire that is too crude and clichéd to be really moving. The Paris/province (rest of France)divide is a source of inspiration for many French comedies but the rotten humor and the engaging characters cannot make up for the very predictable plot.

Some moments are really funny though, there is a kind of tenderness in the caricatured portrait of each sister so all in all it's not such a bad try for a first film.

Eventually it's more a duel of two styles of acting, an encounter of 2 different actress with their own class. Not exactly a good film but a pleasant shot.

First of all, the DVD of this film is now available in France ( Sept 10th 2005 ) It contains both French and English subtitles ( wonders will never cease !! ) plus numerous boni which are subtitled in French only !

Although French cinema had a heyday in the thirties, forties and even the beginning of the nineteen fifties, the general criticism applied to it at the end of the twentieth and first years of the twenty first century is that the films are "mou" or flabby. There may be a good idea now and then in the initial premise, but that doesn't necessarily make for viewer satisfaction in the "salles de cinéma" if the film itself is not carried out in a vivacious and lively way.

Happily, there are exceptions that confirm the general rule and "Les Soeurs Fâchées" is one of them. With a very limited plot ( one lady from the provinces making a visit to Paris and staying with her sister there ) the director has given us 90 minutes of excellent character study and percussive, cutting dialogue !! Both Catherine Frot and Isabelle Huppert put in truly magnificent performances in this film and let me assure the would-be spectator that there is not one boring moment ! Isabelle Huppert, beautifully freckly and good looking though she is has always had a tendency to interpret twisted, unhealthy or perverted characters in her films ... and this film is no exception. Her character is very unpleasant, intolerant, "coincée" or sexually repressed, impatient and unbearably snobbish .... I can confirm this is typical of a majority of Parisians to a greater or lesser degree !! Enter Catherine Frot, "la provinciale" adorable, friendly,spontaneous, natural, "naive" by Parisian standards, who has written a book and hopes to have it published by the parisian editor Grasset. Catherine Frot represents the simple, good-natured and uncomplicated, and unsophisticated person from the French provinces who is totally removed from the world of Isabelle Huppert but brings a breath of Fresh air into her stressed parisian life.

This difference between Paris and the provinces really does exist and although the characteristics are exaggerated in the film, I found it to be not that far removed from reality. There are moments when Huppert DOES realise she has an awful character, and repents but a few minutes later, this is forgotten and she's on the warpath again ! I am not sure whether the film would be that interesting for someone who does not live in France and does not know this profound difference between the parisian and provincial mentalities. When you have witnessed this first hand, the film with its dialogues takes on all its importance. The humour ( as such - as I don't know whether one can really call it humour - though there are a few moments where you smile ) vaguely recollects that distilled by the film "Tatie Danielle". If you've seen and appreciated the humour of the latter, then there are chances that you will appreciate this effort.

The dialogues of the film are surprisingly violent at certain stages and the spectator may be surprised or even shocked !! An excellent actors' performance in my opinion - and I would love to know how the film will go down in other countries !!!

Despite occasional overacting, this movie contains some interesting psychological and sociological insights. Most of the situations are plausible, even when they contain stereotypes. Although Martine's character could be construed as vicious and riddled with over-the-top intolerance, in the end she arouses more pity than contempt. Her younger sister Louise, fresh from the provinces and utterly devoid of sophistication and savoir-faire, in the end turns up trumps, a modern version of Andersen's ugly duckling. All the minor characters appear credible, as they witness with patient puzzlement the increasingly hysterical outbursts of the Parisian sister. A subtle touch is provided by Martine's unprepossessing little boy, who should be, but isn't, the logical comfort to his mother's depressive condition. If there is a moral to this fast-paced middle-class comedy, it is that no intelligent woman should sentence herself to merely being a wife and mother. Louise, on the other hand, has twigged this, and triumphs in the end.

Huppert plays a monster. Well not a villain, but there are actual villains in the movies that I've found easier to watch. Only the light French-style early Modern musical score tips the viewer that this story won't end in tragedy (a murder or suicide, say). So the viewer indeed knows where the movie is going from the music, that self-awareness will ultimately blossom and this beast will finally humanize herself.

But that said, I felt that the ending wasn't earned. Did they tack on a happy ending for improved world-of-mouth just to sell tickets? It comes so out-of-nowhere that you can't even call it a deus ex machina. In real life you don't get to cross the bridges you burn just because you have had a change of heart. Hurting people matters It's not just not realism, the ending is sugar-coated wish-fulfillment for audience approval.

The script is mostly very light on back story, but there is an emphasis on the unseen mother's alcoholism, Martine's intension of abstinence, and what a mean drunk she turns into when she falls off the wagon. So I read this as one of the movie's themes, namely the perpetual anger of recovering alcoholic, so, jilted by the lover alcohol and now unable to feel human love (whether for spouse, child, sister or mother). This may seem like a very narrow reading, but the script supports it, and if you buy my reading, you can use it as handle for finding some sympathy for the otherwise utterly irredeemable Martine.

Catherine Frot really steals the picture. Just what she does with her face alone to show her connection to the music while listening ,at the theater, to the first few bars of an opera is acting gold of the highest merit.

The film "Les Soeurs fachees" is very moving. It really comes alive because of the two extraordinary lead actresses. Especially the wonderful Isabelle Huppert. She is amazing the way she can express emotions, during the movie, without saying a word. You can read it all in her beautiful face. During the movie you get to know, nearly in every scene, how different these sisters are. The cold, unhappy Martine and the nice and friendly Louise. It proofs how important are goals for you life, and it's never to late to change something,to become happy. A wonderful true french film, refreshing, charming, sad, might make you laugh and cry. Loved it. I would definitely recommend it to everyone who loves great cinema with talented actors, and dislikes Hollywood Studio Movies.