A La Mode

Rating:
Summary: Yet another saucy French coming-of-age comedy
Review: "A La Mode" is a fairly standard coming-of-age movie, without much of a French twist. Our hero is young Fausto (Ken Higelin), who is bullied for a while in the orphanage but eventually makes friends with Raymond (François Hauteserre), who can fart Beethoven's Fifth. Eventually Fausto is apprenticed to a Jewish tailor named Mietek, who adopts the two boys. Fausto turns out to have a natural flair for creating outlandish fashions, but his attention is on Tonie (Jean Yanne), the daughter of the local mechanic. In the end Fausto manages to combine both of his loves, dressing up the woman he loves. This is a funny film and certainly has touching moments, but there are so many of these types of films on both sides of the ocean that it is hard for any of them to stand out.

Rating:
Summary: Yet another saucy French coming-of-age comedy
Review: "A La Mode" is a fairly standard coming-of-age movie, without much of a French twist. Our hero is young Fausto (Ken Higelin), who is bullied for a while in the orphanage but eventually makes friends with Raymond (François Hauteserre), who can fart Beethoven's Fifth. Eventually Fausto is apprenticed to a Jewish tailor named Mietek, who adopts the two boys. Fausto turns out to have a natural flair for creating outlandish fashions, but his attention is on Tonie (Jean Yanne), the daughter of the local mechanic. In the end Fausto manages to combine both of his loves, dressing up the woman he loves. This is a funny film and certainly has touching moments, but there are so many of these types of films on both sides of the ocean that it is hard for any of them to stand out.

Rating:
Summary: Yet another saucy French coming-of-age comedy
Review: "A La Mode" is a fairly standard coming-of-age movie, without much of a French twist. Our hero is young Fausto (Ken Higelin), who is bullied for a while in the orphanage but eventually makes friends with Raymond (François Hauteserre), who can fart Beethoven's Fifth. Eventually Fausto is apprenticed to a Jewish tailor named Mietek, who adopts the two boys. Fausto turns out to have a natural flair for creating outlandish fashions, but his attention is on Tonie (Jean Yanne), the daughter of the local mechanic. In the end Fausto manages to combine both of his loves, dressing up the woman he loves. This is a funny film and certainly has touching moments, but there are so many of these types of films on both sides of the ocean that it is hard for any of them to stand out.

Rating:
Summary: An Unashamedly Enjoyable Film
Review: The American critics have been not been kind to this film, nor have the French critics been overwhelmed. Granted, if your first impulse on leaving the cinema is to ask what the film was trying to say, then you will likely be disappointed. Meaning and message are not the stuff from which "A la mode" ("Fausto" in France and the UK) is fashioned. The business of this film is simply to provide an hour and a half of enjoyment. This it certainly does.

The four principals know their craft well and provide excellent ensemble. Ken Higelin is winning as the driven young emerging fashion designer. Jean Yanne is endearing as the kindly Jewish tailor who adopts him. He is the one strong actor in the film and doesn't try to steal the show from the youngsters. Francois Hauteserre is charming as Higelin's gross-out friend. Florence Darel is wonderfully demure and unaffected as the love interest and gorgeous as well. The smaller parts are given equal care. More than the usual attention, obviously, was paid to editing and the mise-en-scene. The film never lags, something possibly due in part to its director's having worked for a decade previous in advertising. (And before "selling out" to advertising, he spent a decade working as an assistant director on several important French films.) Sadly, "A la mode" seems to be Duchemin's only feature film. This is a film for those who simply want to sit back and be entertained. It is totally lacking in pretentiousness (Hauteserre certainly sees to that) and very full of charm. Even if it is not "The 400 Blows" or "Citizen Kane," I continue to enjoy "A la mode" after many viewings.

Rating:
Summary: A mix of comedy and passion does not make a movie a success!
Review: This film will not make the list of 100 best films ever, nor the top 200 or 300, but the film does make a decent effort to make you laugh. Overall, it is a decent film without any break through performances. The movie is the story of Fausto, an orphan who becomes an apprentice to an established tailor. Fausto, however, has dreams of becoming a fashion designer, particulary for women. Fausto's friend in the film provides much of comical relief, and is the only character who seems to have any depth.

If you have a couple of hours to waste and need a good laugh, then you may want to watch this film. If you are looking for a good foriegn or french film however, I do not recommend you rent/buy this film.

Rating:
Summary: A mix of comedy and passion does not make a movie a success!
Review: This film will not make the list of 100 best films ever, nor the top 200 or 300, but the film does make a decent effort to make you laugh. Overall, it is a decent film without any break through performances. The movie is the story of Fausto, an orphan who becomes an apprentice to an established tailor. Fausto, however, has dreams of becoming a fashion designer, particulary for women. Fausto's friend in the film provides much of comical relief, and is the only character who seems to have any depth.

If you have a couple of hours to waste and need a good laugh, then you may want to watch this film. If you are looking for a good foriegn or french film however, I do not recommend you rent/buy this film.