Film Review: Populaire

Directed by Régis Roinsard

Starring: Romain Duris, Déborah François, Bérénice Bejo

Let’s all forget our unspoken agreement to lie through our teeth in an effort to appear cultured, and admit that if there’s a choice between a subtitled foreign film and one in our native language, the latter will probably win out. It’s not just laziness; subtitles can be problematic from an artistic point of view. Having to constantly read subtitles distracts you from the visuals of the shot, sometimes revealing critical information before the images have had a chance to catch up, and it is often difficult to connect the tone of voice with that big mush of unfathomable words, meaning subtleties of the dialogue go over your head. Ultimately, through no fault of the filmmakers or audience, this disjointed feel means it can be hard to immerse yourself in the world presented by a subtitled foreign film.

Into these reservations blew the trailer for Populaire, showing a well-dressed boss meeting a ditsy secretary with a talent for typing, and promptly entering her into a typing contest. Will-they-won’t-they romance plot? Check. Misfit leading lady waiting to shine? Quirky scenario? Glamorous 1950s period setting? Big, bright, beautiful dresses? Check, check, check, and check. Oh, and Bérénice Bejo from The Artist is in it too. While many film fans will be groaning into their snobbery and horror collections at the thought (hi Matt, thanks for reading), these ingredients compromise everything I would look for in a fun, easy film, and so I overlooked the groaning sensation let loose by my inner heathen at the mention of the S word, and got ready to read.

As the trailer suggests, the plot revolves around Rose Pomphyle (Déborah François), a modern woman trapped in a small French town, who dreams of leaving it all behind to make it big, starting with a job as a secretary. Enter dashing but gruff Louis Échard (Romain Duris), an insurance man who is fed up with always being second best, both in the eyes of his father and of Marie (Bejo), the woman he once loved who went on to marry his best friend. Échard begins training Rose for the typing championships, but the gruelling schedule and their emerging chemistry complicate their feelings about each other and themselves.

So far, so predictable, but there’s more to this romance than meets the eye, and the characters are not simply allowed to fall into each other’s arms in typical Hollywood style. Despite his generosity, Échard is no Prince Charming, often seeming cold and rude, while Rose is alternately sweet, tough and maddeningly selfish. Both undergo some thorough self-examination as they try to tangle out their places in the world, a theme that reflects the mood of the 1958 setting, which sees France caught between the memory of the war and the new generation’s desire for modernity.

And that 1958 setting looks good. The visuals are awash with the glamour that pervades fifties and sixties period films, with the vast difference between Rose’s sleepy town and the vibrant, modern city emphasised by scenes bedecked in candy colours, fancy cars and snappy dressers. Everyone has their hair styled to perfection, make up looking flawless, puffy dresses, sharp suits and big, shiny houses: in other words, everything you would expect from a retro rom com, but transplanted to France and revolving around a typing competition.

It this plot detail that really lifts this film out of the ordinary and means it would be entirely fair to classify Populaire as a sports movie. It employs a fairly standard formula: an underdog with raw talent and ambition to be great undertakes intense instruction from an expert coach in order to try and win a competition. There are training montages that are surprisingly entertaining, mid-competition disasters, and the tension of whether or not victory will be achieved. The quirky twist, of course, is that the sport involved is speed typing. Populaire does for this what Whip It did for roller derby, in that it brings a frequently derided activity and shows a competitive, gutsy, challenging side that requires discipline and skill. Ultimately, it is this sporting plotline, rather than the romance, which drives the narrative of the film, pushing Populaire from an average rom com to a mix of sports film, love story, drama and comedy.

Like those subtitle sceptics, Populaire is not pretentious in its ambitions, offering light-hearted but moving entertainment rather than hard-hitting drama. While the pervasive screen of retro glamour threatens to posit it firmly in the territory of frothy, mindless love story, the quirky premise, sporting plotline and well-developed main characters takes this from run of the mill and make for a charming, whimsical film.

Film Review: The Sapphires

Released: Wednesday 7th November 

Director: Wayne Blair

Starring: Chris O'Dowd, Deborah Mailman, Jessica Mauboy

Verdict: Great acting and singing and some genuinely funny moments, but a loose plot means it never really shines.

***

It’s 1968 and three Aboriginal sisters are performing a country song in the talent contest in a local bar before a hostile white audience and a bemused Irishman. Although they miss out on the prize, the girls pick up a manager/pianist in the form of the aforementioned Irishman, self-proclaimed soul man Dave (Chris O’Dowd). Armed with an advert calling for entertainers to perform for American soldiers in Vietnam, the four head off to get the reluctant blessing of the girls’ parents. 

When youngest sister Julie (Jessica Mauboy) is refused permission, older sisters Gail (Deborah Mailman) and Cynthia (Miranda Tapsell) set out to recruit their cousin Kay (Shari Sebbens), who used to sing with them when they were children. Joined by the ever resilient Julie and with old tensions returning to trouble Kay and Gail, Dave persuades the band to ditch the country and find their inner soul stars as they jet off to romance and danger in war-torn Vietnam.

The film starts off strongly, drawing on the chemistry between the sisters to create a promising premise. The main characters all have their own problems; Dave is a borderline alcoholic, ambitious Cynthia is hurting over a broken engagement, young mother Julie vaguely mentions something about making a better life for her son, stoic Gail is busy watching out for everyone and Kay is confused over how to handle her muddled racial status in racist Australia. 

On this last point, the film should be credited with not shying away from Australia’s troubled racial past, although it generally ignores the history of American segregation. However, as it goes on, these personal issues are generally ignored in favour of various blossoming romances, of which only one seems to reach a clear conclusion by the end of the film. Loose ends are acceptable when they are clearly intended, but in a film billed as ‘the feel-good film of the year’ (I’ve fallen for that line before, Danny Boyle) it seems odd that two of the three major relationships are seemingly forgotten, as are Julie’s plans for fame.

Although no one could accuse this film of aiming to be the next Apocalypse Now, it does generally offer an alarmingly rosy view of the Vietnam War. While most scenes set in the war show soldiers cheerfully gambling, smoking and singing along to some wonderful soul classics, the most graphic image of war is an amputee watching the band perform with a wistfully forlorn expression, as though he has just remembered he forgot to buy the milk. Of course the women are the focus, but the film somewhat loses its impact in the wake of this rose-tinted representation of war. Also, the suggestion that a bit of soul might calm the black troops after the assassination of Martin Luther King is patronising bordering on offensive.

However, while this film is clearly not perfect, it has moments of brilliance. The sharp comedy is pulled off perfectly, particularly by O’Dowd and Mailman, whose chemistry shines throughout, and the performances themselves are breathtaking, often thanks to Mauboy’s superb vocals. Despite being rather forgotten by the end, Tapsell manages to play to both the comedy and pathos of the film. Although determined to maintain the upbeat heart of the story, the filmmakers take care to show the disturbing impact of racism in Australia.

Despite the actors’ best efforts and some sharp, well-delivered jokes, The Sapphires never transforms into anything more than an uplifting comedy with some outstanding performances of soul classics.