Tirez la langue, mademoiselle (2013)
Directed by Axelle Ropert

Film Review

In 2009, journalist-turned-screenwriter Axelle Ropert received widespread acclaim for her debut feature La Famille Wolberg (2009), an engaging piece that took the well-worn concept of the dysfunctional family and gave it a quirky modern spin.  For her follow-up feature, Tirez la langue, mademoiselle, Ropert applies the same makeover treatment to another popular genre, the Gallic auteur rom-com, and again delivers a refreshingly idiosyncratic, sensitively drawn variation on a familiar theme.  In the murky middle-ground between comedy and drama (in which most of us appear condemned to live out our lives), the film takes apart a somewhat clichéd narrative and reassembles it as a bittersweet slice-of-life that touches a nerve or two with its honest observations on the injustices of life and the fragility of human relationships.

Laurent Stocker and Cédric Kahn are improbably cast as brothers who appear as wedded to each other as they are to their profession as general practitioners.  Physically and personalitywise, Stocker and Kahn could hardly be more different, the former the kind of affable dreamer you'd expect to find in a 19th century romance, the latter an introspective pragmatist with more than a hint of De Niro's tenebrous charm.  The characters they play in the film appear to be mirror images of one another, or perhaps two facets of the same personality.  Their relationship, fraternal but slightly grudging, is the most interesting and most successfully realised aspect of the film.  Prior to this, Kahn distinguished himself as an actor in Elie Wajeman's Alyah (2012), only his second film appearance, and he is still better known as a film director, well-regarded for films such as L'Ennui (1998) and Roberto Succo (2001).  The raw noir flavour of Kahn's cinema is carried through into his performances, where an engaging personality somehow just finds its way through the actor's gruff, lugubrious exterior.

Former television presenter Louise Bourgoin, now a successful actress, is equally well-chosen for the role of the female interloper who wreaks havoc on the well-ordered but lacklustre lives of the two male protagonists.  Even though she has by now earned her spurs an as actress, an air of unreality still clings to the instantly eye-catching Bourgoin, and Ropert puts this to good use, making her a cross-between a fairytale princess and classic femme fatale, with just enough mischief to make us aware of the cheeky double meaning of the film's title.  Bourgoin's character never acquires a fully fledged identity; rather, she is a plot device, the mechanism by which the relationship between Stocker and Kahn's characters is exposed, put under strain and ultimately wrecked.  In addition to the three main protagonists there is a host of believable peripheral characters that come and go without any great fanfare, their effect being not to dilute the central narrative, but to add colour and substance to it.  It is also worth noting the appearance of Serge Bozon in a prominent supporting role - not only did he direct four films scripted by Ropert - the most recent being Tip Top (2013) - but his sister Céline contributed her services as the film's cinematographer.

Part of the indefinable charm of Tirez la langue, mademoiselle comes from its setting in Paris's 13th arrondissement.  Situated on the Left Bank, this bustling and distinctly untouristy part of the capital has a distinctive character which it owes to its abundance of low cost housing (mostly high-rise apartments) and broad ethnic mix, which includes a sizeable Chinese and Asian population.  By day, the area is pretty nondescript, but by night it acquires a unique cosmopolitan beauty, which Ropert seizes with both hands and makes the soul of her film.  It is interesting that the point at which we begin to see through the dullness of the setting and become aware of the vitality beneath the surface is also the point at which the door to the inner world of Stocker and Kahn's characters is opened to us.  'Never take things at face value' seems to be a recurring motif of Axelle Ropert's cinema, and if an artist's role is to help us see the extra dimensions that make up the world then Ropert is clearly living up to her job spec.

Film Synopsis

Boris and Dimitri Pizarnik are two doctors who share the same practice in the Chinese district of Paris.  Brothers, they are inseparable, as devoted to each other as they are to the profession which occupies most of their waking hours.  One evening, they are called to a high-rise to attend to a diabetic young girl.  The latter has been brought up single-handedly by her mother Judith, who just about makes ends meet by working as a barmaid.  A short while later, Boris meets up with Judith in the street and they share a drink and meal together.  It isn't long before Boris realises that he is head over heels in love with the free-spirited barmaid, but his elation turns sour when Dimitri tells him that he has also fallen for Judith...