EIFF Review: The French Guy

Posted by: Scott Hayes  •  October 7, 2005 @ 11:59am

Filed under: Reviews

What would truly-defined Canadian cinema be if it wasn't quirky? What indeed?

Vaguely comedic and dark, The French Guy touches a nerve with a story about a woman who has surgery to remove a brain tumor. She is released too soon and has problems every time she sneezes. So she wraps her apartment in plastic.

Did I mention Charles? In a fit of confusion she goes looking for him on the beach and comes upon a man who is not Charles. The man gets slightly injured in the encounter, so she takes him back home to nurse him back to health. In some ways, this is a tender love story about a chance encounter that leads two wandering souls together.

Did I mention this is also a bloody piece of whimsy? Bloody? It puts Reservoir Dogs to shame with less than an ice cream pail of fake blood. I'll never French kiss again. Needless to say there are some drastic twists, some of which are bewildering, while others are just mildly confusing.

This was a fine addition to the film fest lineup. I may not have understood it all but I still enjoyed it. Plus, it featured a fantastic implication of a string quartet into a sequence.