The Taste of Others (Le gout des autres)
Directed by: Agnes Jaoui
Written by: Agnes Jaoui and Jean-Pierre Bacri
Starring: Anne Alvaro, Agnes Jaoui, Jean-Pierre Bacri
This film does not have Gerard Depardieu or Daniel Auteuil in it. In fact, the cast would be largely unknown to Australian audiences, although Jaoui has been on the acting scene for some time and written screenplays before. This is her debut as a director. The face which may seem most familiar is that of one of the lead characters, Clara, an under-appreciated stage actress. However, Anne Alvaro is making her first screen appearance: she is, in fact, an under-appreciated stage actress. The casting in general in excellent. Bacri plays Castella, a grumbling, dissatisfied head of a company bearing his name. His wife (Christiane Millet, another stage actress) is nervy and frustrated, an interior designer whose taste is stuck in overly-pretty flowery country-cottage style. His bodyguard (Gerard Lanvin), hired while the company is dealing with an Iranian group, and his chauffeur (Alain Chabat), both look terribly French, and strike up a friendship. They share blokey discussions on jobs, football and relationships, and also end up sharing the same woman, Manie the free-spirited barchick (Jaoui), a friend of Clara’s.
The stage actress and the company director move in different circles, yet they meet because Clara also teaches English to supplement her income, and Castella’s advisers say he needs to learn. Grumbling, Castella is then unexpectedly impressed by Clara’s performance on stage when his wife drags him, grumbling, to the theatre. Fascinated, he not only continues his lessons, but also starts hanging out with Clara’s artist friends at the cafe where Manie works, going to the theatre and art galleries, and trying to read the books which Clara recommends. What begins with an infatuation with Clara becomes an exploration of different element of society which was previously unknown to him, and which may offer him more than his current bounded experience. He obviously does not fit in, having had his tastes dictated wholly by his wife and being completely culturally ignorant. He is also ignorant of the social group making fun of him, and continues to impose himself, in a rather good-natured way.
The film shows these interactions between characters from different groups, illustrating some differences, some similarities and some changes in character. It is not purely a case of fish-out-of-water, and steers away from outright comedy. Neither is it vicious in its commentary. The characters are immediate and real, and each inspires a degree of sympathy, trying to deal with their own problems and having difficulty communicating with others. Despite getting bogged down in a couple of places, the film moves at a steady pace, reaching not any spectacular conclusions but some points of closure.
S.L.
