Fulfilling its mandate without too much difficulty in terms of the essence of its scenario, Miss Bottine also ends up establishing itself as a beautiful and substantial introduction to the seventh art for its young audience.
Beyond its well-crafted stories and its inventive proposals, the Tales for everyone once had the significant value of being one of young moviegoers’ first real contacts with drama. Complex notions and feelings which were explained and presented at the level of children, and above all always treating them with the greatest respect.
In view of this Miss Bottinethere is no longer any doubt that producer and filmmaker Dominic James knew precisely what he had to do when he took over the reins of La Fête productions from the late Rock Demers.
After the very friendly Coconut FarmJames and director Yan Lanouette Turgeon decided to play big by tackling one of the most popular feature films in this rich repertoire of children’s films.
The duo affirmed from the announcement of the project that they wanted to offer much more than a simple remake of the Bach and Bottine from 1986. And everyone involved can certainly say: “Mission accomplished”.
We are introduced this time to young Simone (Marguerite Laurence) when she has to live temporarily with her uncle Philippe (Antoine Bertrand), whom she had never met before.
The little girl, who until then took care of her grandmother and her animals in the heart of a pretty country house, finds herself in the city at the worst time imaginable, while Philippe must finish sooner rather than later the composition of his new opera.
A work which could well be the last chance for the main person concerned to taste success, he whose career has been in decline since the creation of his masterpiece, fifteen years earlier.
Struggling to take care of himself, Philippe is initially reluctant about the idea of welcoming Simone into her home. Then they both gradually discover that they may need each other more than they are willing to admit.
Miss Bottine is a literally timeless creation, drawing the foundations of its story and its artistic direction, as well as its cultural references, from countless eras and then mixing them to form a whole that is as conclusive as it is homogeneous.
Obviously, what catches the attention from the start is the incredible complicity between the two headliners. Antoine Bertrand shines once again as this man with a big heart, but haunted by a lost love, and struggling with significant social anxiety issues (one of the most notable updates to the story) , while Marguerite Laurence shows unparalleled playfulness and charisma in a role that is both raw, sensitive and particularly mature for her age.
There’s a kind of lingering disdain that sticks to live-action children’s films. More often than not, the staging of these turns out to be simply non-existent, particularly on the American production side.
This is absolutely not the case here, as Yan Lanouette Turgeon creates a visually magnificent work, enhanced by the superb photo direction of Marie Davignon. The whole thing is all the more imbued with the musicality in which the whole story is bathed, the director skilfully echoing it both in his lively and precise camera movements (sometimes reminiscent of Wes Anderson) and in the way he makes his performers move in perfect synchronicity.
That’s without counting the incredible dramatic crescendos taking shape to the rhythm of Ramachandra Borcar’s lovely soundtrack and Carina Baccanale’s lively editing.
We could expect that Miss Bottine fulfills its mandate without too much difficulty in terms of the essence of its scenario. But the feature film also ends up establishing itself as a beautiful and substantial introduction to the seventh art for its young audience.
Enriched with equally charming performances from Marilyne Castonguay, Mani Soleymanlou and young Mateo Laurent Matériaux Daigle, this story of a personal journey revolving around the importance of learning to trust, of knowing how to seize a second chance, and of not having afraid of letting love into one’s life, is already very high among the best La Fête productions.
The kind of offering that you should find in Ciné-Cadeau’s regular programming for years, even decades, to come.
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