MFFF MOVIE REVIEW: FOLIES BERGERE



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Fifty something Brigitte lives a quiet life in the country with her husband, where they breed prize winning cattle. She seems happy with her life, but a brief encounter with a young man from Paris makes her leave her home for a couple of days. What happens next is a chain of brief encounters and sweet moments of absolute freedom and absence of guilt. Whatever happens in Paris stays in Paris. Or is it?

What is it about Isabelle Hupert that makes you have one look at her and think that she keeps a secret. She can be incredibly beautiful and completely plain but keep her presence in every scene and make you fall in love with her. No matter what she does, somehow, we believe that she is a good person at heart and wish her well.

The movie is sharply written, with the balance of comedy and sentiment that will make you feel hopeful.  Some movies just have it. They flow effortlessly, they tell a good story and make you wonder at every minute what happens next.

Name of the film FOLIE BERGERE is a pun on the famous cabaret venue in Paris. Bergere also means a shepherdess, which the protagonist Brigitte certainly is.  


It seems a fashionable statement in French cinema these days that a little vacation from the ordinary life can be good for you. But can a little “adultaire” really fix a good marriage? Maybe, but only in Paris.

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