Published in The Post-Star (G11)
9/21/06
Apres Vous (2003). Directed by Pierre Salvadori. Starring Daniel Auteuil, Jose Garcia, Sandrine Kiberlain and Marilyne Canto. 110 minutes, French with English subtitles. Rated R for language.
This quirky French comedy based in a Paris bistro serves up a hearty portion of laugh-out-loud humor, garnished with a sprinkle of philosophy and a lemony twist.
The plot's main ingredients mix when the bistro's head waiter, Antoine (Daniel Auteuil), stumbles upon a suicide attempt by a morose loser named Louis (Jose Garcia), who is stewing in self-pity after a bad breakup.
Sounds like a recipe for heavy drama, but director Pierre Salvadori prefers black comedy. Viewers may be surprised to find themselves cracking up at the sight of a man with a noose around his neck.
Don't worry, Antoine doesn't let him succeed. In fact, he is so moved by pity that he invites Louis into his home, the first in a series of well-intentioned overtures that soon create a sticky mess of personal, professional and romantic complications for both of them.
Antoine gets Louis a job at the bistro -- nearly losing his own as a result -- and tracks down Louis's ex-girlfriend, Blanche (Sandrine Kimberlain), by pretending to be just another customer in her flower shop. In the meantime, Antoine's relationship with his own girlfriend (Marilyne Canto) is cooling.
Hmm, anyone smell a romantic triangle cooking?
It's not a terribly original idea, but it's artfully presented, and Auteuil's expressive acting is the frosting on this tasty treat of a film. (That's the last food pun, we promise.)
Want more?
If you like Auteuil in the role of a rescuer, check out the 1999 French romantic drama "The Girl on the Bridge," in which his character stops a depressed girl from jumping off a bridge by offering her a job as a human target for his knife-throwing act.
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