While the plot of this charming French fish-out-of-water pastoral may remind American viewers of such fare as The Egg and I or Green Acres, tonally it's very different from those broad farces. Mathilde Seigner, one of the continent's finest young actresses, plays a computer programmer who tires of her job and, against the advice of her pragmatic mother, abandons the city to fulfill a dream of rural life. After completing agricultural school, she buys a goat farm in the remote French Alps from a gruff, reclusive widower (the great Michel Serrault), with the understanding that the old man will continue living there awhile. He watches with incredulity, and increasing dismay, as she uses her Internet-savvy to transform the place into a rustic tourist stop while also working it as a farm. But despite spring and summer success, he doubts she'll be able to make it through the winter, and when the cold months come he manipulates her (in the fashion typical of lovable old screen curmudgeons) into asking for his help, which he “grudgingly” gives. The growing friendship between these mismatched souls is rendered adroitly by the stars, and director Christian Carion has created a strong sense of time and place by shooting the film over the course of a full year in the actual locale. Recommended. [Note: DVD extras include a 25-minute subtitled “making-of” featurette, six behind-the-scenes segments (8 min. total), three deleted scenes (7 min.) including an alternate ending, three minutes of outtakes, trailers, and a weblink. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a small, engaging foreign film.] (F. Swietek)
The Girl from Paris
Koch, 103 min., in French w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: $29.98, Dec. 7 Volume 20, Issue 1
The Girl from Paris
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
Order From Your Favorite Distributor Today: