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Reviews of Recent Independent, Foreign, & Documentary Films in Theaters and DVD/Home Video
APRÈS VOUS
Having kept his girlfriend waiting for an hour, harried waiter Antoine (Daniel Auteuil)
finally gets off work and takes a short cut through a park when he notices a
man (José Garcia) standing on a suitcase, noose around his neck under a tree. He
forces the man, with much struggle, onto the ground. Antoine finally meets
up with his girlfriend, bringing along a surprise guest, his "cousin." In
fact, Antoine still doesn't know the stranger's name. In trying to do the
right thing, Antoine gets the hapless Louis (still determined to off
himself) a job as a sommelier and becomes a sleuth, tracking down the source
of Louis' heartache, his ex-fiancée Blanche (Sandrine Kiberlain).
From the opening cartoon credits of bumbling penguins dressed as waiters to the bouncy pop
soundtrack, Après Vous is light on its feet with an occasional kick (in one
such instance, Louis becomes a burn victim and though all's well that ends
well, Antoine's car will take a heavy bashing). Everyman Daniel Auteuil's
performance remains subtle even as the results of his good deeds spin out of
control. The rest of the ensemble is strong, including supporting actors
Andrée Tainsy as Louis' meddlesome granny and Michèle Moretti as Antoine's
skeptical boss. As Blanche ("I'm not a loose woman, but I'm easy going"),
Sandrine Kiberlain brings a life and death urgency to the film as her
personal affairs become quite complicated, thanks to Good Samaritan Antoine.
But a little of the timid and whimpering hangdog Louis goes a long way.
And after a fast-paced first half, the film drags a bit, and is about 10 minutes
too long. But director Pierre Salvadori's affection for the romantic comedy
genre is apparent; his use of a silhouette as an important clue during
Antoine's investigation is a smart touch of Lubitsch. Kent Turner
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