The IFI French Film Festival
Thursday, 24th November 2011
Louise Wimmer
Black Venus was screened for a second time on Thursday afternoon as part of the IFI French Film Festival, followed by another screening of Gérald Hustache-Mathieu noirish Nobody Else But You (Poupoupidou).
The evening kicked off with a screening of Louise Wimmer. Cyril Mennegun’s film focuses on a 50ish-year-old woman who’s fallen on bad times, living out of her car struggling with a meagre income from her cleaning jobs and battling authorities for a council flat.
The film is marked by Corinne Masiero’s central performance as Louise, a proud woman who does her utmost to maintain appearances, never looking for sympathy and admirably maintaining her dignity in such difficult circumstances.
Mennegun patiently reveals how Louise has found herself in this position and the thin line that can exist between a life taken for granted and a life from which those things are taken away. Her resilient struggle to survive is delivered in some well-observed scenes such as petrol syphoning and café vulturing.
With Louise Wimmer Mennegun has fashioned an impressive, realistic character study of a proud woman battling to take charge of her life.
Thurday’s preceedings came to a close with the screening of Service Entrance (Les Femmes du 6e étage) Philippe Le Guay’s romantic comedy featuring Sandrine Kiberlain whose impressive performance in The Bird opened this year’s festival.
Steven Galvin
Louise Wimmer screens again on Friday, 25th November at 14.00
