RETURN OF THE HERO (LE RETOUR DU HÉROS) |
ESQUIRE IMAX THEATRE In French with English subtitles. REVIEWS Laurent Tirard's period screwball comedy is like a twist on "Cyrano de Bergerac" with a feminist heroine. Laura Clifford - Reeling Reviews The real heroism on display here is the filmmaker's renewal of the great screwball comedy. Courtney Howard - Fresh Fiction What a joy! "Return of the Hero" is so well written, so well played and so much fun! Pierre Vavasseur - Le Parisien We thought the recipe forever lost, but Laurent Tirard invites us to a witty marivaudage in Napoleonic costumes, which evokes the great hours of French cinema embodied by Philippe de Broca or Jean-Paul Rappeneau. Guillemette Odicino - Télérama |
"Dry your tears," says dashing Capitaine Charles-Grégoire Neuville (Oscar-winner Jean Dujardin, The Artist, the OSS 117 series - SFFF 2008 and 2010) to his new aristocratic fiancée Pauline (Noémie Merlant) as duty calls him to the battlefield. "I will write every day!" But of course he never writes, and Pauline falls so ill that the doctor fears for her life. To save her younger sister, headstrong Elisabeth (the delightful Mélanie Laurent, Inglourious Basterds, Tomorrow - SFFF 2016) starts writing and sending her romantic and heroic letters signed by the Captain. Pauline's life is saved, but Elisabeth's imposture will take on a life of its own, as the "fake news" of the Captain's heroism spreads around town. Return of the Hero is a lavish 19th-century screwball comedy, sweet and clever, giving the expressive Dujardin one of the physical roles in which he excels. The chemistry between him and Laurent makes for witty and hilarious scenes. She hates him. He despises her. The classic recipe for romance… Or, as director Laurent Tirard puts it, “It is a Jean-Paul Belmondo character suddenly dropping into a Jane Austen world.” Enjoy! Shown with KAPITALISTIS by Pablo Muñoz Gomez ESQUIRE IMAX THEATRE |
