Je suis à toi (2015)
Directed by David Lambert

Film Review

David Lambert's follow-up to his gay-themed debut feature Hors les murs (2012) serves up a lighter variation on a similar theme, at least it does until it morphs mid-way through into a more conventional three-way romance that wends its way somewhat gawkily through a minefield of clichés and familiar situations.  Je suis à toi lies somewhere in the murky terrain between realist drama and a strain of absurdist comedy that has become prevalent in Belgian cinema in recent years.  The result is a quirky comedy-drama that appeals in spite of an obvious lack of character depth and a depressing dearth of originality on the plot front.

Je suis à toi walks a thin line between trite convention and sporadic eccentricity but it has at least one ace up its flour-covered sleeve, which is the memorable trio formed by lead actors Jean-Michel Balthazar, Nahuel Pérez Biscayart and Monia Chokri, all of whom turn in rounded performances (Balthazar doubly so) in spite of a complacent script that does them few favours.  Having previously impressed in Benoit Jacquot's Au fond des bois (2010) the Argentinean born Biscayart brings gravitas to what might otherwise have been a lightweight timewaster, rewarding with a similarly thoughtful portrayal of a fraught individual who has far more depth than is discernible on the surface.  He makes both a striking physical and tonal contrast with Jean-Michel Balthazar, the archetypal jovial fat baker who is more likeably pathetic than creepy.  Lambert makes good use of the Laurel and Hardy-like pair formed by his male leads, to the extent that many of their scenes have a cartoon-like unreality to them.

There's enough mileage in the Balthazar-Biscayart double act to carry the entire film but bizarrely Lambert throws in a third element, in the form of a shop girl played by Monia Chokri, to send the film skidding down a different alley in its second half.  Chokri has already demonstrated her talents in such films as Xavier Dolan's Les Amours imaginaires (2010) but here she is under-utilised in a poorly developed role that, had it gone to a lesser actress, would have totally sent the film over the edge of a precipice.  Chokri doesn't need a great script to give a great performance and her skill as an actress more than compensates for the failings of Lambert's writing, bringing a reality to the film's second half that does a reasonable job of hiding the glib second-handedness of the plot.  Chokri is the yeast that helps Je suis à toi to rise in the baking, and whilst a little crusty the film does make a tasty if not entirely satisfying repast.

Film Synopsis

Lucas is at the end of his tether.  He has no family, no friends, no job, and he barely survives on what he can earn as a male prostitute.  He is also stuck in Buenos Aires and sees no way out of his present predicament.  Then he gets the idea of posting an S.O.S. video on the internet.  This is how he comes to the attention of Henry, a lonely Belgian baker who cannot resist giving Lucas his airfare to a new life in happy Wallonia.  Naturally, Henry expects more than just a token thank you from his young protégé, but even Lucas baulks at the prospect of sharing a bed with a fifty-year-old who has at least three times his body weight.  As Henry turns Lucas into a dutiful apprentice, Lucas begins taking an interest in his boss's pretty shop girl, Audrey.  He feels he has fallen in love for the first time, but she apparently has no feelings for him...