English Title: French Twist
Director: Josiane Balasko
1995
Quirky Comedy
Running Time 1hr 44mins
Cert: 15
French with English Subtitles
“A farcical, dynamic love triangle like no other you have seen in any cinema.”
A womanising estate agent and his gorgeous Spanish wife are about to have their lives turned upside down by a lesbian DJ, Marijo (played by director Josiane Balasko), who arrives into their lives by accident and stays.
Balasko wrote the film as well as directing and starring in it and won the César in 1996 for her clever and witty screenplay that swings deliberately between high comedy belly laughs and genuine pathos. Carried by a very beautiful soundtrack, and beautiful settings in the south of France near Avignon, this dance between the three characters encapsulates the most notable difference between European films and Hollywood films, namely that it is not always obvious how the story is going to develop, and the unexpected yet plausible plot turns are the film’s strength. Will you guess the final twist?
