THE GIRL FROM PARIS
Directed by: Christian Carion.
Produced by: Christophe Rossignon.
Written by: Christian Carion & Eric Assous.
Director of Photography: Antoine Heberle.
Edited by: Andréa Sedlackova.
Music by: Philippe Rombi.
Released by: Koch Lorber.
Language: French with English subtitles.
Country of Origin: France (2001). 103 min. Not Rated.
With: Mathilde Seigner & Michel Serrault.
DVD Features: “The Girl From Paris: Going Back to the Roots” featurette. Behind-the-scenes look at six scenes. Deleted scenes, including alternate ending. Outtakes. Trailers.

A white-collar Parisian, Sandrine Dumez (Mathilde Seigner), suddenly announces to her mother she wants to become a farmer. Upon completing a two-year agricultural school, Sandrine purchases the farm of widower Adrien (Michel Serrault ), who remains on the property until he is able to move away. Adrien watches bitterly as she turns his family’s farm into a tourist attraction complete with a hotel and tours for children. He scoffs at her degree and her belief that she will be able to live on the remote farm alone during the harsh winter. Throughout this battle of wills, Sandrine, however, works to win him over with her charm and determination.

The Girl from Paris begins strongly by pulling viewers in during its first moments and ends with a slightly surprising conclusion. Mathilde Seigner gives a charming and simple performance, as does Michel Serrault. The duo’s relationship is intriguingly vague at times. Whether Adrien looks at Sandrine as the daughter he never had, a young attractive crush or a little of both remains unclear. The scenery of the Rhône-Alps region is beautiful, and the premise of the traditional farmer working against the school-educated one rings true as the conundrum of modern agriculturists. And the film doesn’t hold back, graphically depicting many of rural life’s harsh realities, some of which are not for the faint of heart.

DVD Extras: The featurette of Christian Carion’s return to the farm used in the film is fascinating for anyone interested in the beautiful setting. He discusses the importance of the film to him and his desire to use childhood memories of his dad, a chicory farmer, as inspiration. Carion visits the goat shed and is surprised to see it empty. The goats’ owner explains the animals had to be sold but seeing the goats onscreen in the film was good closure. Equally interesting are the behind-the-scenes clips, especially where a camera is attached to a small helicopter to film the opening sequence. And the alternative ending is actually better than the original ending. It brings the story full circle in a way that the film’s final moments fail to do. Lauren Hines
March 7, 2005