Paulette

Paris is a living movie set, thanks to its beauty, history, and unrelenting cool, which provide the perfect backdrop for nearly any cinematic situation. Oft neglected, however, are the outskirts and suburbs, where much of the city's lower class and immigrant citizenry reside. These areas are miles from the picturesque Seine, Eiffel Tower, and haute couture shops and smoky cafes lining the bright Champs-Élysées—geographically, visually, politically, and socioeconomically. Paulette, the brash protagonist in French filmmaker Jérôme Enrico's eponymous comedy, lives in a rundown housing project. Widowed, alone, destitute, and bearing racist, xenophobic grudges, she soon finds herself unable to pay rent and facing eviction. As a desperate measure to supplement her income, she starts selling pot. Local drug dealers quickly nix that plan, so former patisserie owner Paulette uses her culinary skills to make hashish-laced cakes that become a hit and help her build an empire. Paulette is a light, formulaic film, but one that is also sweet and amusing. This is mostly thanks to the film's lead: the late Bernadette Lafont, a legendary star of the French New Wave who died in 2013 at the age of 74. Here, she dominates the screen as Paulette, who transforms from hard-edged and repugnant to alive and open to the world and its people thanks to the power of marijuana. A strong optional purchase. (P. Morehart)