A perfect placePosted by MacDonald Kock on January 31st, 2021 Whether painting, acting or classical music - the fine arts have a long and successful tradition in French cinema. In the new millennium alone came Jacques Rivette's light-footed theatrical comedy “Va Savoir”, Jacques Audiard's gangster drama The wild beat of my heart, the protagonist of which is not only devoted to protection money but also to the piano, and the love film Painting or Loving the Larrieu siblings several masterpieces on these subjects from France. Daniéle Thompson's ensemble comedy “A Perfect Place” now even takes care of everyone at once. In doing so, she celebrates the beauty of art itself just as skilfully as she is able to viciously question the whole superfluous apparatus around it.
A small bistro on the luxurious Avenue Montaigne: The hysterical actress Catherine (Valérie Lemercier), who owes her fame above all to her portrayal of a kind-hearted mayor in a melodramatic human-touch soap, dreams of demanding cinema roles. The successful concert pianist Jean-Francois (Albert Dupontel) is fed up with all the fuss about his music, he finally wants to play for normal people again. And the aging art collector Jacques (Claude Brasseur, "La Boum - Die Fete") has his entire life's work sold off at an auction, so that together with his young lover Valérie (Annelise Hesme, "Tanguy") it is really free again Life.
But this illustrious company only really gets going when the new waitress Jessica (Cécile de France) bursts into this microcosm and seems to infect everyone involved with her open-minded, hungry for life. Her grandmother (acting veteran Suzanne Flon, who died shortly after the filming and to whom the film is now dedicated) had always raved about how she once worked as a maid in the most expensive Parisian hotels and thus admired other people's luxury. Jessica's own excursion into the world of the rich is initially unsuccessful, as she cannot even afford a room of her own in the super-expensive district and therefore sneaks into the changing rooms of a concert hall at night. But finally, on her odyssey through the multifaceted world of artists, she also gets to know Jacques' adult son Frédéric (Christopher Thompson, Lushin's defense) better ...
With its crises of meaning, its quarrels, its affairs and, above all, its crystal glasses filled with red wine, one could almost describe “A Perfect Place” as a sophisticated French cinema version of such luxury soaps as “Reich und Schön” or similar iron-on television representatives - with the opposite, of course to Trash TV with polished, sleek dialogues, a flowing staging and, above all, great actors. Nonetheless, the serial nature contributes significantly to the special charm of the film: Due to the constant changes between the different story arcs, the countless overlaps and interactions, the film reaches an uncanny pace despite its extensive dialogues, but without ever being checked off or even hectic Act.
Even if the big international stars are missing in “A perfect place”, the crème de la creme of French acting has gathered here.
Stremiomovie de France, who gained notoriety in Germany primarily through her sympathetic appearance in Cédric Klapisch's L'Auberge Espagnole and her role as a killer in Alexandre Aja's High Tension, races through the luxury scenery as an inexperienced whirlwind Jessica, thus giving the audience access into the world behind the gleaming marble facades of Avenue Montaigne. And the rest of the impressive ensemble, from which Valérie Lemercier (“Sabrina”) stands out as a hectic, over-ambitious soap actress and Albert Dupontel (Mathilde - Eine große Liebe, Irreversible) as a thoughtful pianist, is in no way inferior to her. As a special treat for the cinema fanatic, there is also a hilarious appearance by Hollywood director Sydney Pollack (The Interpreter, The Company, The Three Days of Condor), who as Brian Sobinski in Paris follows the turbulent love life of Jean-Paul Sartre tried to make a film.
"A perfect place" has everything you absolutely need for a successful ensemble comedy: A sympathetic cast full of real types, biting and humorous dialogues and a healthy amount of wisdom and honest optimism. There is also a serious but never naive ode to art, love and life. The really loud laughs are difficult to find here, but the viewer floats through the entertaining 105 minutes of this wonderful film with a permanent smile.
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