Antoinette dans les Cévennes

A sweet little movie and a couple of things you may not know about Robert Louis Stevenson, the author of Treasure Island and Dr. Jekyll and Mister Hyde. Beautiful landscapes and gentle people all around in this dreamy production.

When a film is well written and remains faithful to the basic feeling for which it was wanted to make, jobs like this are obtained. After watching the movie I finished with a smile on my face, sometimes a fairy tale story is necessary even if it is not about a white horse and it is not necessarily a true prince, but the magic is always there for those who know where to look.

In kanopy, it's listed as my donkey, my lover and i; in imdb, it's antoinette dans les cévennes. When vlad can't go away with antoinette on a vacation, she decides to follow him anyway. But there's one problem. Vlad's vacation will be spent with his own wife and daughter.... on a long, difficult hike in the french mountains. And the group antoinette is in disapproves. (why would she tell them anyway?) things go okay. Until vlad's wife confronts her on the trail. And then her donkey starts acting up. It's simple but cute. Moves quite slowly. Part of the charm is the beauty of the countryside. Not a lot happens, but antoinette learns a few things before it's over. Beautiful scenery of les cévennes in françe. For the details of stevenson's actual journey, see the travels with a donkey entry in wikipedia. Directed by caroline vignal. Inspired by robert L stevenson's book.

"Inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson's "Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes", MY DONKEY, MY LOVER & I revamps the story to the modern day, schoolteacher Antoinette (Calamy) impulsively takes the hiking trip in the Cévennes hoping to track down her married lover Vladimir (Lavernhe), who vacations with his family in the environs. Paired with a donkey named Patrick, Antoinette must learn to maneuver her mulish traveling companion all by herself. One of the film's successes can be contributed to the funny two-play between Antoinette and Patrick (actually played by two different donkeys, one meek, the other refractory), the hiking provides a conduit for Antoinette to speak out loud of her relationship with Vladimir, to vent out the whys and wherefores of staying in an extramarital affair, actually Vignal's script provides enough insight to make Antoinette's choice plausible."

read my full review on my blog: Cinema Omnivore, thanks.

A comedy that takes the journey as a metaphor for life, almost like a Road Movie, but on a donkey, through the beautiful countryside of the Cévennes. The big difference, to the typical Road Movie, is that the path here is constructive, invites reflection, the enjoyment of life, the moment, the company, and not destructive, nihilistic, terminal, as happens when traveling by car on the tarmac.

Laure Calamy has a distinct presence, pleasant and relaxed, almost sensual. Patrick, the donkey, also acquires an unexpected role, as the unlikely companion on this journey of self-knowledge and vital rebalancing, in contact with nature and animal life.

A pleasant and surprising film, insofar as it offers more than what it promises.