Felicità? Why the Italian title? It's a song played when Timothée (Pio Marmaï), Chloé (Camille Rutherford) and the young Tommy (Rita Merle, Bruno's daughter) have escaped from the house they were living in, which is not theirs. The title of course means 'happiness', and is one of Tim's favourite songs, by Al Bano and Romina Power, which he plays in the car as they run away. They're running away because Chloé is a maid in the house, although the family of three have been living there because Chloé knew that the owners she worked for would be away for some time, although they've returned slightly earlier than expected.
Much of Tommy's world is seen from her point of view, which sees her parents – particularly her father Tim – in a world-wary, sceptical but surprisingly mature way. Why can't she have ordinary parents? It's hardly surprising she wears ear defenders to block out their nonsense, and when she does the viewer too hears nothing until she removes them. We notice the little girl in a café at a neighbouring table – in reality her sister, as she's another of Merle's daughters – fire an imaginary gun at her, she mocks being dead, and the little girl blows the smoke from her finger as cowboys do their gun in westerns. But her parents notice nothing, being too busy in conversation the other side of the table.
In fact the conversation ceases and Tim puts on a very serious face and tells Tommy that there was a couple who split up, leaving behind a baby and it was her, but that they've just seen the father, and it's Orelsan the rapper*: Tim tells her she has the choice, as he's certain Orelsan will reclaim her, and she'd have access to far more money than her now 'substitute' parents have. Tommy just waives this off as another crazy trick of her father's, which of course it is.
At one point Chloé is visibly upset as she has to tell her husband something: she's being blackmailed because she acted in some movies before she met Tim, and some were porn films. Tim is shattered, but it's all a joke: Chloé can play the same game too.
At another point Tim steals a powerful car belonging to an English person, goes back to his own car and tells Tommy to wait there while he goes to look for Chloé. Should Tommy stay there or go and see what her wayward parents are up to? And suddenly I'm reminded of Ken Loach's Looking for Eric (2009), the part where Éric Cantona makes a sudden appearance, but only in the protagonist's mind. Tommy's sitting in the back of the car with her ear silencers on but she can hear the voice of the person who suddenly magics himself next to her: Orelsan in a spacesuit, talking about choosing what to do.
A very odd film which also plays tricks on the viewer.
*Of course, a French viewer doesn't need to be told who Orelsan is, but the fact that he's a rapper is added in the English subtitles.
No comments:
Post a Comment