“There many moments of slapstick, but also many of pathos and introspection as Antoinette finds her true path.”
Con Nats
3.5 Eeyores
Antoinette (Laure Calamy) is a corky little lady. She’s a popular teacher with a winning smile and one fault: She’s having an affair with the father of one of her students. Well, this is France.
Vlad (Benjamin Lavernhe) announces, due to a sudden change of plans, he can’t go away on a love tryst with Antoinette. His wife wants the family to take a trek in the Cevennes, following a trail Robert Louis Stevenson took, which involves daily treks of around 20 kms. Antionette unwittingly chooses to take a stubborn donkey – Patrick. He only seems to walk when she talks to him, which allows for easy exposition. He just about steals the show and teaches her a few life lessons. He is her sound board.
This is a very gentle anti-romantic comedy. Wherever Antoinette goes, people know of her as her legend grows. The French seem to admire a heroic mistress. Go figure.
Most of the comedy derives from Patrick’s antics, but you can laugh at a stubborn donkey only so often. Calamy carries this on her donkey’s back and won a Cesar for her performance. He didn’t. You can also feel so much through Calamy’s expressive face. She is loveable despite being amoral and Patrick is there to help make her pay for her sins. And you find yourself hoping the best for the ‘Other woman’.
There many moments of slapstick, but also many of pathos and introspection as Antoinette finds her true path. Writer-director Caroline Vignal has put her in a very picturesque countryside, which is a bright and light setting for a loveable comedy. It’s worth the trek.
