Avenue Montaigne (2006)

AVENUE MONTAIGNE (AKA Fauteuils d'Orchestre, or Orchestra Seats) works on many levels. As directed and written (with her son Christopher Thompson who also acts in the film) by Danièle Thompson the story is about need, expectations, disappointments and the opening of new doors. It is sweet, tender, beautifully acted and delivers Paris to the viewer on a dream- like encounter. Jessica (Cécile De France) lives in Mâcon, France with her aging grandmother Madame Roux (veteran actress Suzanne Flon in her last appearance in film): they share a desire - loving luxury - but both are poor in money and rich in spirit. Jessica decides to move to Paris to find good fortune. She has no money and no place to live so she finally finds a job as a waitress in bar next on Avenue Montaigne that caters to the surrounding theaters and the wealthy inhabitants of the area. Not being the requisite 'male waiter' her attention is paid to the people of luxury around her. She meets a famous pianist (Jean-François Lefort) who is married to his manager Valentine (Laura Morante) and their life of luxury is tainted by the pianist's tiring of the superficiality of his career, a famous actress Caterine Versen (Valérie Lemercier) who makes money on TV soaps and struggles with Feydeau stage productions but really would chuck it all to star in a film about Simone de Beauvoir and Sartre directed by the famous Brian Sobinsky (Sydney Pollack), and a great art collector Jacques Grumberg (Claude Brasseur) who is auctioning off his entire art collection to the pleasure of his new young girlfriend Valérie (Annelise Hesme) but to the disappointment of his son Professor Frédéric Grumberg (Christopher Thompson) , and is present in the retirement days of the theater manager Dani (Claudie). Jessica proves to be the catalyst for change in each of these people's lives and fulfills her dream of providing luxury by obtaining an orchestra seat for her grandmother at the pianist's farewell formal concert. Though the plot may sound complex it all spins out in meaningful ways that manage to tie the multiple stories together because of the presence of Jessica. The cinematography by Jean- Marc Fabre sparkles as doe the musical score by Nicola Piovani (with a great assist from Beethoven!). It is a bit of French froth with a message and a pure delight to watch - over and over. Grady Harp

What a wonderful journey through just a few days. This movie pretends to be about a young girl with a simple life who encounters three people with complex lives. It is not really that. Yes the girl is important. She is the thread that connects and ties the three other stories together and that is important. But the it is the lives and struggles of the other three that give this movie the depth and strength it has. Before you know it, you are caring more for each of the three than you are for young Jessica.No spoilers here, you have to watch the film to find out how refreshing the movie is. There are items here and there that deflect just a bit but not enough to distract the viewer from the essence of each characters humanity.If you like foreign cinema, this is one of the best ones produced in 2007.

This film is being compared to Robert Altman in reviews and advertising but it's not quite up there with his skills. Altman had a much surer hand on writing, directing and acting not to mention a distaste for the un-ironic happy ending. Admittedly, you'll probably want to jump on the next Air France to Paris as you leave the theater but you'll have forgotten this film by the time you land. Kudos to the filmmakers for creating a brisk film though. All too often a movie with this large an ensemble feels it necessary to give an extended conclusion to each storyline. This one just gives us a point in the right direction for most of them. Less is more. Fauteuils d'orchestre is a solid attempt at situational comedy and there are worse ways to pass 106 minutes.

As in most of the best French films, not a lot happens and people spend a lot of time talking about their problems but somehow it works. The central character played by Cecile de France is largely a ficelle designed to link together the subplots. Each of these involves an apparently enviable character - someone who's apparently got it made - who isn't as happy as he (or she) should be. The malaises of these rich and glitzy characters turn out to be universal human problems - ageing, family strife, boredom. One of the major themes of the film, beautifully woven through all the subplots, is that we should theorise about life (and art) less and respond to life (and art) in an emotionally direct way. Ergo I shall simply say I enjoyed it, I didn't get a numb behind and I was happier after I came out than when I went in. It's worth the price of admission for the Sidney Pollack restaurant scene alone.