No wonder every cinema has its "stars." Sometimes the script or the plot--or even the other acting--may stink, but the "star" holds the cinematic galaxy together. In THE BEST FRIEND, the obvious star is Daniel Auteuil (sp?). He has been in many good French films. I can't think of the names of these films at the moment, but I've seen at least 5 good Daniel A. films. In THE BEST FRIEND he plays an art/antiques dealer of fame and renown around Paris who, according to his circle of acquaintances, has no friends. Leave it to France to ask us to deconstruct "friend."
I don't know about you, but it seems like he has friends to me. But the film portrays him as someone who has great difficulty being close with anyone or empathizing with them. He consequently goes to a support group for people without friends. Because this is a comedy, and because Daniel's character is really not a nice guy (but is trying to be, somewhat). The scene after the meeting when the man with the bottle glasses and Burberry scarf shares his umbrella with the Daniel figure is funny (the play on the British) but also a bit dumb. Being mean is dumb.
Meanwhile, there were many laughs in this film. Parisiens are not very friendly. The self-referential nature of the laughs makes it a good one. You have to like Paris and France to really like this film. It is high brow French realism and BRIDGET JONES' DIARY all in one.
1 comment:
Yes you do!!!!!!!
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