Robuste
An aging and disenchanted film star (Gérard Depardieu) gets a new assistant in the form of young female security officer Aïssa.
Larger than life in all conceivable ways, Depardieu can be a disruptive, unsteadying presence in films which fail to cater to the fact that he brings generous helping of Depardieu to any role he plays. Constance Meyer’s highly enjoyable Cannes Critics’ Week opener not only takes this on board, it runs with it, casting Depardieu as George, an ageing French actor with a tendency to crash motorbikes and to embark on drunken misadventures.
“France without meat isn’t France,” he grumbles at one point, which is possibly the most Depardieu thing that anyone has ever said. The film’s secret weapon, however, is Déborah Lukumuena, supremely assured as Aïssa, the temporary security guard with whom George forges a grudging friendship.
Shown originally last year as part of the French Film Festival on Tour, this wonderful film suffered due to the pandemic. “An act of inter-generational generosity and mutual elevation between one of France’s most accomplished films stars, and one of its blazing newest.” Variety.
- FEMALE DIRECTOR
