Bécassine is a nice girl. Bécassine is a simple girl, even a bit of a simpleton. We all know Bécassine. She's the snipe of the comic strip, who has now become a film character, with her own personality and adventures. She's from Brittany; she dreams of Paris, its grandeur and its lights. Deep down, she just wants to be useful, work and be happy.
After greeting Uncle Quentin and her parents, Bécassine sets off for the capital. On the way, she comes across the dashing yellow carriage of Madame la Marquise de Grand-air, accompanied by the driver, her confidant, her adopted daughter and the nanny. The nanny, stunned by her father's beatings, slaps the child around. Dismissed in the middle of the road, Bécassine takes her place, diverting her planned journey to Paris. In the Marquise's service, the young Bretonne moves into the château to look after little Loulotte and bring the place back to life, inspiring the other servants to the same spirit.
A good French comedy
Let's just say that Bécassine! is neither a masterpiece nor a revolutionary film in the field of comic-book adaptation. Nevertheless, Bruno Podalydès' feature film is fresh, wholesome, funny, intelligent and enjoyable. Bécassine! gathers these qualities because it has a very specific goal, which it achieves: to offer a fine French comedy.
Comedy means wordplay, as well as comical gestures. The prestigious cast - including Karin Viard, Josiane Balasko and Denis Podalydès - and especially Emeline Bayart as the title character, give the film a theatrical dimension. The movements are repetitive, just enough to elicit a light smile from even the most grumpy viewer, without turning into insistent, tiresome ridicule. The jokes, on the other hand, are heavier; not because they border on vulgarity, but because they're silly.
After all, a certain amount of stupidity is required to characterize a comedy character. Faithful to the traditional Bécassine, the script outlines the heroine's character. But it's only an outline. The interior is quite different. It completes the richness of the woman considered foolish. The comedy then expands and fulfills its vocation: to present someone who makes you laugh, of course, but who also moves you with her innocence tinged with authenticity. In this sense, Bécassine is very similar to Mister Bean, which is both funny and touching.
A film of wonder
Wonder then becomes a consequence of the behavior of the comic figures. This is precisely where the director succeeds in giving his film a solid, effective consistency. Bruno Podalydès could have confined himself to revealing wonder only in Bécassine's psychology. Instead, he extends it to the technical elements. The photography is clear in its luminosity, vividly colored and invades Bécassine's gaze. The aesthetic of the set design has, as mentioned, its theatrical allure, but also its dancing side. Emeline Bayart's choreography transports Bécassine's entire body into a state of wonder, as well as her eyes.
Finally, the music carries it all off. Essential, it doesn't stand out too much from the work as a whole, insofar as it fits perfectly. It's so natural that you don't really know whether it's the cause or consequence of the wonder. Between the soft piano, the plucked strings, the caressed guitar and the enchanted flute, the soundtrack confirms that the character of Bécassine is lucky to have been brought back to life by a talented director, who offers his audience a humble spectacle of wonder, joy and tenderness.
- Slow down!
- It's not me, it's the car.
Write to the author : loris.musumeci@leregardlibre.com
Photo credit: © Praesens-Film
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