Reviewed By Linda Marric
Even if you’re a newcomer to the wonderful world of Abel and Gordon (Rumba, The Fairy), and their whimsical slapstick style of filmmaking, one cannot help but admire the amount of the work that goes into their output year in year out. Back with Lost In Paris or to give its original title, Paris pieds nus (Barefoot In Paris), the comedy duo achieve a huge coup by enlisting the help of Emmanuelle Riva, in one of her last roles, into their weird and wonderful world in this old fashioned physical comedy caper.
Staring Fiona Gordon as a hapless Canadian tourist in search for her long lost aunt Martha (Emmanuelle Riva), and Dominique Abel as a homeless man who takes a liking to her, the film is a genuine treat full of laugh-out-loud moments which is likely to please the duos growing fan base. As Fiona (Gordon) makes her way through Paris having lost all her possessions on her first day, it soon transpires that the only person willing to come to her rescue, is a besotted Dom who makes it his mission to follow her like a shadow around the city.
By basing the bulk of the action in a heightened reality version of Paris, Abel and Gordon are not only able to pay homage to the past, but they also bring a whole new air of poetic realism to their story. Add to that a “blink and you miss it” cameo from ‘70s and 8’0s comedy sensation Pierre Richard (The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe, The Umbrella Coup) , it becomes clear that the duo are keen to pay homage to their own comedy heroes all the while adding their own brand of physical comedy to the proceedings.
Riva puts in a fantastic performance as an ageing bohemian refusing to let old age dictate the rest of her life. All in all, Lost In Paris is a genuinely heartening piece of filmmaking. A must see.
Directors: Dominique Abel, Fiona Gordon
Writers: Dominique Abel (screenplay), Dominique Abel
Stars: Fiona Gordon, Dominique Abel, Emmanuelle Riva, Pierre Richard
Lost In Paris is in selected cinema from Friday 24th of November
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