Girl From Paris

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<bR> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=400 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> Girl From Paris</div> <div> <IMG SRC="40ab0200.png" border=0 width="432" height="288" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="592" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 20 WIDTH="588"><div> <B>The Girl From Paris</B></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 21 WIDTH="588"><div> <B>êêê</B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Arial" ><B>½                         Not Rated</B></FONT></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="588"><div> Reviewed by Shelley Cameron</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="588"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="588" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 23 WIDTH="588"><div> Four seasons</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="591" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="587"><div> Mathilde Seigner:  Sandrine Dumez</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="587"><div> Michel Serrault:  Adrien</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="587"><div> Jean-Paul Roussillon:  Jean</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="587"><div> Frédéric Pierrot:  Gérard</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="587"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="587" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="587"><div> Directed by Christian Carion.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="587"><div> French with English subtitles.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="587"><div> Drama.  103 Minutes.</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> This sweet, refreshing story of a Parisian woman who shapes a new life in the country is an honest tale about learning life's limitations.  The alliance she forms with a grouchy old farmer is a lesson for both of them about acceptance and other things.  Co-starring the lush and awesome landscape of the French Rhône-Alpes, it examines the cracks in our armor and exposes the little truth that in spite of determination and hard work, the tide of events is sometimes under our influence and sometimes beyond our control.  The choices we make to steer our lives involve those around us as much as our own self-sufficiency and best-laid plans.  With luck and some help, things may work out in this imperfect world.   </div> <bR> <div> The girl from Paris (the better title, in French, translates <I>One Swallow Brought Spring</I>) is Sandrine (Nathalie Seigner), nearing her thirtieth birthday.  She works in Paris and is prospering but not truly thriving in her career as an Internet instructor.  She longs for the country life.  Disappointing her mother, she leaves Paris behind.  In a twist on the classic generation split that typically has the younger one itching to be modern, Sandrine's mother is distraught that her daughter wants to embrace an old-fashioned occupation, far from the vitality of the city.</div> <bR> <div> Sandrine finds a farm for sale that has been in the family of lonely widower Adrien (Michel Serrault) for generations.  She agrees to let him stay on for 18 months, until his retirement residence is available.  He wants the easier life that his old friend Jean enjoys since cashing in on growing real estate values but Adrien is reluctant to leave and even more reluctant to help Sandrine succeed.  It is a story of perseverance, connection, discord, and wisdom, filled with the minor triumphs and tragedy of farm life - stillborn baby goats, a power failure in the dead of winter, and the petty misdeeds of ordinary folk.  Filled with the extraordinary beauty of the mountains, the landscape itself has the presence of a character in the drama. </div> <bR> <div> Adrien commiserates with Jean about the newfangled methods Sandrine employs and generally expects her to fail.  After a confrontation with some of his old cronies, who were not there to help Adrien in his hour of crisis, his attitude toward her shifts.  We begin to understand him and he begins to want and need Sandrine's company.  When she begins to doubt her choice of a lonely farm life after some setbacks and a visit from an old boyfriend, the old man is willing to sabotage her efforts in order to keep her there.</div> <bR> <div> Seigner's Sandrine is perfect as a strong woman who knows what will make her content.  She does not share the desperation that Adrien is feeling.  Hitting the winning, warm notes of authenticity, director Christian Carion, in his first feature film, brings a gentleness that lets the story unfold softly.  With a light touch, the small moments reveal their major significance.  A hang glider occasionally drifting through the pristine mountain sky, with its perfect blend of contemporary design and fully natural propulsion, serves as a reminder of the possible co-existence of old and new.  Sandrine's favorite goat is named Mouchette, in a nod to that other master observer of simple French country life, Henri Bresson.</div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="592" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 24 WIDTH="588"><div> Shelley Cameron <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Symbol" >Ó</FONT> 2003</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 21 WIDTH="588"><div> <A HREF="mailto:info@reelmoviecritic.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:info@reelmoviecritic.com"><U><U>Shelley@reelmoviecritic.com</U></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>