Après vous...

Daniel Auteuil is always good value. One of France's top actors he is the master of understatement, telling us more by facial expression and body language than words ever could. However, I think he was sold short by this movie where the other characters, with one exception, were poorly drawn. Without spoiling - he rescues a man about to hang himself because his girlfriend has left him, and becomes entangled in this man's life. But there was nothing about either the guy or his girlfriend which merited someone going out of their way to help. Both totally lacked charisma, Blanche particularly was one of those women you simply want to shake in an effort to get some sort of personality into her.

Louis needed a smart punch in the mouth and frankly, when Antoine finally got to the end of his tether with the guy's stupidity and weaknesses, I was looking forward to that as the high spot of the movie.

Nothing could have upstaged the marvellous André Tainsy though, who died only a few months after this film was released, aged 93. She was une trésor absolue, carrying off her role with finesse, incredible humour, so understated - and total aplomb.

It is a funny film (and if you know Fawlty Towers, it's in that vein) in an excruciatingly painful way where you just know everything is going to go wrong and there are a couple of laugh-aloud moments but given the mood throughout, it has the unlikeliest ending you could imagine.

Brilliant music by Camille Bazbaz all the way through and if nothing else his 'Papa Tango Charlie' should have been a massive hit.

Although this film has a few funny moments, the general performance is flabby and leaves you frustrated and expecting better. There are two many scenes that are drawn out, and where you are waiting for the inevitable to happen but there it takes too long to arrive. The goods bits are the audition of José Garcia for the job in the restaurant, when Daniel Auteil takes to the booze and some of the scenes where they are prowling around Blanche's house. The actors are all pleasant to watch, even the lady restaurant owner, and this to some extent saves the film but I came away from it with an overall feeling of frustration at having sat through a relatively long period to get so few laughs. I can't see this film having ANY success outside France and even here, from what I can gather by asking around, it doesn't appear to have been a major success. Pity, because the makings of something better are definitely there and the plot could have been developed with further qui-pro-quo's to make it spicier !

Antoine (Daniel Auteuil) is a head waiter in a chic Parisian restaurant and lives with his girlfriend Christine (Marilyne Canto). His work occupies a lot of place in his life. One evening, by going through a park to be more quickly at his apartment, he saves from suicide a neurotic man Louis (José Garcia). After vainly attempted to take him back to his close relatives, he takes him under his wing and succeeds to find him a job as a waiter in his workplace. Louis wanted to kill himself because his love affair with his ex girlfriend Blanche (Sandrine Kiberlain) went unravel. Antoine found her again because he wants to reconcile them again. She's a charming florist and, you guess it he becomes enamored of her. From then onwards, his well-ordered life starts to showcase signs of poor running.

I'm a little surprised but glad to discover that this little high charged, hilarious comedy enjoys a small reputation abroad. About twenty reviews have already been posted for this film and most of them gave the movie thumbs up. I will post another positive one in spite of minor flaws Pierre Salvadori's film showcases.

Some will be probably surprised but the outset reminded me of Jean Renoir's classic "Boudu Sauvé Des Eaux" (1932), perhaps because of the quite prestigious situation the main protagonists of the films occupy and maybe also because they save from suicide ill-fated men who are cracking up. And then, the saved ones immerse themselves in their rescuers' lives and disrupt their living environment. But although both movies are comedies, they don't belong to the same sub-category. Pierre Salvadori preferred not to follow the steps of the master which bestowed his own work with a strong social satire whiff. There's no trace of it in "Après Vous", although there may be an inkling of it in the following sequence: when Antoine takes Louis in the cellar and shows him the names of the different wines. Louis is afraid not to recognize the right wines and I think that Antoine answers him the customers ape the connoisseurs and don't know anything about wines. The director preferred to choose the road of the sentimental comedy and to especially focus on Antoine's turbulent love life.

Pierre Salvadori commands his film at arm's length and delays the most momentous moment of the movie (the meeting between Louis and Blanche) to better linger on Louis' new life and especially on Antoine's love trouble. In a way, by making Louis work in his restaurant, by undertaking to reconcile him with Blanche and unfortunately by having a crush on her, he is a victim of his generosity. And Louis doesn't really realize the situations in which he puts Antoine. There's a funny sequence around the beginning of the film during which Antoine is at Louis' grandmother's and tries to alter Louis' suicide note in a placating, comforting letter. Then, deep down inside him, he thinks of leaving his ex girlfriend to live with Blanche and has to lie to his protégé and circle not to arouse suspicion about his real motivations. The movie becomes very enjoyable when it accumulates misunderstandings and embarrassing situations linked with Louis' job as a waiter or Antoine's sentimental trouble which the latter tries to escape by hilarious means (check the sequences in the Chinese restaurant). The scenario is also interspersed with droll lines: "how do you find the chicken? Dead".

A threesome of actors serves the film. Daniel Auteuil is able to provide enough caliber to his character to watch the film until the tail end and I would like to congratulate the user "writer's reign" for the tasty pun he inserted in his review: "maitre d'Auteuil". José Garcia who earlier showed in his career that he could hold comical as well as dramatic roles (Philippe Harel's "Extension Du Domaine De la Lutte, 1999) shines as the neurotic, wound up Louis, indirectly responsible of Antoine's mishaps. At last, Sandrine Kiberlain, a little frail, naive but the director never ridicules her. She was ideally cast as Blanche. In French, this name is also an adjective which means white and the actress has a somewhat pallid face which suits well to both the name and the personality of her character.

If the director honed his work with a palpable painstaking care for much of his work, there are little setbacks towards the end of the road. The end is thoroughly unexpected but was made in a rush and the trick of the lighter has been seen many times before. But these flaws aren't major enough to reject Salvadori's film. So, "Après Vous" and enjoy your film!

I saw this at the Phoenix Film Festival, almost by accident. My first choice for the time slot was full, and this would end in time to see my next screening, so I grabbed a seat as the lights went down.

A very pleasant surprise. I really enjoyed this movie, walking into it with out the slightest idea what it was about.

While the premise may not have been 100% original (man helps man get back the girl... but falls for her himself), I thought it was very well done. We should all wish to have friends as dedicated as Antoine, and we can all relate to Louis at some point in our lives.

While the movie may not have been hysterical, I found myself smiling or laughing most of the time. The end result wasn't completely unexpected, yet how they got there was a surprise to me, with the last gag being a nice touch.

Definitely recommend this film. Not one you'll discus what it means for hours, but one you should enjoy while you are there.

I went to the film because I had just come back from a first-time trip to Paris and I could translate what Apres Vous meant. Well, what a wonderful experience! Refreshing, surprising, beautifully underplayed humor, a lovely farce as only the French can do. Reminds me of the old Comedy of Manners from Sheridan's time. Well written, well directed and well acted. Congratulations. And that soundtrack "Allo Papa Tango Charly" is just stuck in my head - I found it's a Mort Schuman tune from 1977, but can't pick up the soundtrack anywhere, even on the official site! Anyone got access to it? I can more or less translate the lyrics from my school days, but would like to come across a literal translation if anyone has it.

I think I might have to go again, just for the song! The food shown at Chez Jean's reminded me so much of the lovely food we had every day in Paris.

A very welcome afternoon at the Cinema.

Jack.