Audience Member
Great comedy about marriage. Huppert as Always makes everything go in the right direction.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/17/23
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Audience Member
Good slice of life film about a long married couple. I enjoyed the parts set in Paris and the little journey taken by Brigitte. Not quite sure about the cheating aspect, but that aside, quite nice to see the end conclusion.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/22/23
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Audience Member
Slight but charming French comedy of manners with a nice understated performance by Huppert.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
02/09/23
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Audience Member
Fairly typical genre mash-up concerning the romantic life of a woman in late middle age; part comedy, part drama, and considering the protagonist passes up the chance to bang Pio Marmai and ends up jumping on Michael Nyqvist instead, part tragedy. Huppert's performance lifts it considerably, but that really only brings it up to predictable rather than somnambulant.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
01/25/23
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Audience Member
Led by critical acclaimed actress Isabelle Huppert, Folies Bergere was a film I had no idea of what to expect from.
After seeing Folies Bergere, I had no regrets about seeing it. The entire film can be judged mainly on the merits of how it approaches the material. While Folies Bergere follows a familiar story of a woman enjoying some time off from her routine on a trip to Paris, it defies other films in their approach to the material by dealing with the material very lightly. The atmosphere in Folies Bergere is of a very light nature which makes it a film that is easily enjoyable as the viewer can just sit back and enjoy themselves, and in that regard it is interesting. It examines the main character and her relationship with her husband combined with a yearn to see what else is out there, and it does a good job of making her likable enough so that as the adultery themes of Folies Bergere are hinted at more and more, she remains likable and sympathetic. The film is very simple, and while it has some strong dramatic moments that deal with certain issues fairly directly, it never detracts from the lighthearted nature of the experience as a whole. Folies Bergere may not have the most original material, but the way that it approaches it is what renders it interesting.
The light nature of Folies Bergere is both its best element and its downfall. Although the film is entertaining as a whole, occasionally the simplicity in the feature means that it fails to take advantage of the potential in the concepts. The relationship between Brigitte Lecanu and her husband Xavier is only really touched upon within the first and last quarters of the film's running time. The beginning establishes that Xavier's focus on his farming career has left his wife somewhat lonely and the later parts of the film reveals that he really does love her, but it is limited in how far it is explored. When their relationship deals with trouble, they both dance around the issue and never talk about it. Perhaps that is intended to be like real life when people in relationships leave certain issues to the implications, but it ignores the fact that there was potential for some real moments of insightful conversation to occur. As the screenplay had been organic up until that point, it would not be surprising if Sylvie Dauvillier and Marc Fitoussi could create some powerful scenes which transition their relationship to a new level of insight. Their approach works, but the simplicity of Folies Bergere has some moments of being too simple for its own good. But as a whole, it remains an enjoyable experience.
Folies Bergere is a really easygoing film which is also touching. It is written well and then given a very gentle treatment by Marc Fitoussi who is able to engage viewers with the characters so easily that it is easy to find a connection to the characters. There are four main figures in the story with the most distant one being the rather shallow and self-centred Stan. All the others are really likable, and it makes the journey a thought provoking one. Folies Bergere does not really have good and bad characters, it has human beings at the heart of it all which means that it maintains enough realism to reach viewers from all over the world and realise the meaning in it all.
And keeping with the atmosphere, the cast of Folies Bergere take the film to a great height of success.
The charms of Isabelle Huppert are undeniable. For an actress who has played so many complicated character roles in her long and acclaimed career, it is great to see her in such a simple lead part in Folies Bergere. Much of her role requires physical acting, and her facial expressions say more than words ever could because she manages to let it all flow at an organic pace. Her natural sense of charm makes her a likable protagonist, and the way that she keeps a certain sense of spirit in herself over the course of the entire story is wonderful. Isabelle Huppert plays the role of Brigitte Lecanu with her most natural sense of charisma, and it pays off because she is always an interesting and likable figure without having to try too hard at all. Isabelle Huppert's natural spirit in Folies Bergere reminds us why she is such a critically acclaimed actress, even in the most simple of roles.
Jean-Pierre Darroussin does a nice job as well. He transitions really well over the course of the story because at first he is a simple archetype of a character, and as the story unfolds he becomes a more sympathetic one who the audience cares about. As Folies Bergere gets closer to its climax, we see the dramatic spirit in him rising until a moment where he lets it all out with surprisingly realistic aggression stemming from his line delivery and physicality which never goes overboard into melodramatic material. Jean-Pierre Darroussin does a strong job keeping up with the atmosphere in Folies Bergere, and his chemistry with Isabelle Huppert has a true feeling of marriage to it.
And as always, Michael Nyqvist is a welcome presence. His role in Folies Bergere is largely built around how he accompanies Brigitte Lecanu on her journey through Paris. Within his small amount of screentime, Michael Nyqvist's natural charm and spirit makes him a welcome character in Folies Bergere. He shares a strong chemistry with Isabelle Huppert and the scenes they share together are very gentle in nature which spark up a sense of passion. It is nice to see him in an easy-going role as well.
So Folies Bergere is a very simple film for better and for worse, and the light nature of its atmosphere makes it a really easy view while the efforts of the cast, particularly Isabelle Huppert, bring a true level of charm to the feature.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
01/27/23
Full Review
Audience Member
French delicacy. Isabelle Huppert is the star, and the camera leaves her only to display the best of Paris streets and classy amusements, alternating with provincial charm and prize French agriculture. As if it were the most natural thing in the world, a happy but slightly bored farmer's wife seeks a little mild adventure in the capital, telling her husband that she is going for a doctor's appointment. Huppert balances her business-minded, Charolais prize-winner, living the rural idyll, with the woman's desire for new interest, and her willingness to show fire, to flirt and be seduced though, it must be said, only with charm and style. This is supplied by the equally married Danish periodontist, played musically by the mystic-eyed Michael Nyqvist, who dresses immaculately, persists delightfully, and whose lovely hands might have been sculpted by a Romantic artist. The French twist comes when the doughty farm labourer, a wise philosopher and counsel who missed his vocation, lights the farmer's way back to his wife. It goes without saying that everything in this film is perfectly made, with not a frame, a word or a gesture out of place, and the acting is no exception. Even the massive, white Charolais are students of the emotions, with a sense of humour. This is, in fact, more like a painting than a film. It's about living in the moment. Go, and float adrift for a couple of hours.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
02/15/23
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