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Michel Serrault,
Michel Serrault,
Mathilde Seigner,
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:
Christian Carion,
Christian Carion
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: Koch Lorber Films
: 103 min.
: French
: English
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Can a thirtysomething gal from the city find happiness with a goat farm and its aging overseer? Sandrine (Mathilde Seigner) is a computer expert who has successfully pursued a career in business; however, her career path was chosen to please her family more than herself, and Sandrine has decided to move away from the fast pace of city life to rural France. Hoping to put her job skills to work in a new context, Sandrine begins studying agriculture, and arranges to buy a goat farm from Adrien (Michel Serrault), an elderly farmer who is nearing retirement. Adrien will spend another year and a half at the farm in order to insure a smooth transition to Sandrine's management, but his attitude toward her speaks less of gratitude than resentment; he isn't eager to show her the workings of the farm he helped to build, and his behavior is more than a bit hostile. Using her computer skills, Sandrine creates a website that generates a whole new market for the goat cheese and fruit preserves the farm generates, which helps her win Adrien's grudging respect, and when Adrien falls ill and it looks possible he may not live out his final stay on the farm, he begins to open up to her, sharing all he knows about the farm, and a new level of admiration and trust grows between them. Une Hirondelle a Fait Le Printemps was the first feature film from writer and director Christian Carion. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
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| Zzzzzzzzz...
by TaoG
March 29, 2005 - 11:09 PM PST
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0 out of 2 members found this review helpful
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| This movie put me to sleep with contrived "gritty realism" and lackluster plot. Michel Serrault is decent as a bitter and curmudgeonly old farmer set in his ways, but he can't quite knit this unimaginative movie together. Some of Antoine Heberle's cinematograpy of French coutryside is beautiful, but I had to shut it off. |
| Perfect Ingenue Flick
by squad
February 14, 2005 - 10:31 AM PST
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3 out of 3 members found this review helpful
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| The movie has an artificial melodrama feel to it. Perfect escapist movie for idealistic and uncritical viewing. To me the main character and the story did not ring true as a chronicle of an actual endeavor to take up farming. It was however a good vehicle for Mathilde Seigner's glowing screen presence, and for beautiful French Alps scenery. |
| A primer on the differences between French and American film style
by talltale
December 11, 2004 - 8:12 AM PST
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5 out of 5 members found this review helpful
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| Imagine a Hollywood movie about a computer-training teacher in New York City who decides to become a farmer in upstate New York. Now, change the locale from the US to France. Without even trying, THE GIRL FROM PARIS presents a textbook example of the differences between French and American moviemaking, subtlety being prime among these. Nothing is forced or pushed; relationships develop slowly, with a few surprises along the way. There's a love/sex interest but he comes in a distant third to the work, locale, mentoring and friendship that the "girl" of the title needs. The leads Mathilde Seigner and Michel Serrault are by now jewels in the crown of French cinema (granted, he's a much older gem than she), and director Christian Carion is a man to watch. This is no masterpiece, but it is a highly enjoyable, accomplished piece of filmmaking. From the very beginning, the subtlety and surprise kicks in: From our point of view, we seem to be traveling in a car, around a winding road in the mountains, enjoying the scenery. Suddenly, that "car" becomes a helicopter and we soar off the road into the air. This provides a tiny jolt of delight, and these jolts just keep coming, via the breath-taking scenery, the fine performances, the little twists and turns the plot takes as it meanders gracefully along--offering no inflated melodrama, just life lived in a wonderfully interesting way. |
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GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 7.06)
16 Votes
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