They've done it again: French cinema has added a new female director to its already swollen pantheon so now the likes of Danielle Thompson, Marion Vernous, Tonie Marshall, Nicole Garcia, Anne Fontaine, Agnes Jaoui et al can make way for Alix Delacorte to take her place alongside them. This is nothing short of a minor gem and the fact that it reminds us superficially of other charming films - Je vous trouve tres beau, Marius et Jeannette - is a positive rather than a negative. Not unlike The Apartment it starts out as one thing and then seamlessly becomes something else. Working from her own Original screenplay Delacorte has chosen all her actors well, none more than the two leads, Clotilde Hesme and Gregory Gadebois, a pair I noticed first in small roles in yet another exceptional French film Le Chignon d'Olga. For the first two or three reels Delacorte is happy to let us see the negative aspects of Angele and have her unable to penetrate the defensive shell of Gadebois and conclude the relationship has nowhere to go and then, the humanity that has been simmering beneath the surface in both cases bursts out joyously and we have a charming love story on our hands. Like Ariane Ariscade the face of Clotilde Hesme in repose in not so prepossessing but when she smiles she can, just like Ariscade, light up a whole city. Two well deserved Caesars for the two leads prove that just occasionally Awards committees can get it right.

The Director is too obsessed with her theme of hard-done-by/unfortunate young woman, and the pathos of her aggrieved face, even when her struggle is only with pedalling a bicycle uphill-—(overlong shots of this), as emblematic of her hardship!The first shot in the film: Angèle engaged in a certain "activity" up against a wall, with a young man who gives her a Chinese Action Man, after pulling up his jeans, and is never seen again. She appears as a sullen tart, whose unsavoury past is only later hinted at by fragments of information. She is authorised to leave a Young Offenders' hostel when she tells the officer she has got herself a job (helping Tony, the charitable fisherman whose mother is recently widowed).Her entirely graceless, furtive behaviour is further displayed when we find she has just stolen a bicycle; then she tries to steal a smart dress from a shop, and maintains she has to go and collect her son. This proves to be a charming 10 year old who has naturally become distanced while she was in prison, and she is fearful/embarrassed about confronting him. Apart from a violent demo by fishermen v. police, everyone is obliging: Angèle remains sullen and aggrieved.In spite of all, there is a happy ending! (She marries Tony, the boy is a page, ex-in-laws are reconciled.)The Interviews with star and director prove a further disappointment: trying to reply, haltingly, in English, to very banal questions is a daunting task; it only reveals their mutual satisfaction, as if the theme and the beautiful face were sufficient to carry the story through. (275 words)

"Angele et Tony" was a surprise when it was shown on a French cable channel recently. Directed and co-written by Alix Delaporte. It is a small picture about ordinary people that come together in an unexpected way. One can easily identify with the simple story that M. Delaporte has created.Angele, a young woman recently released from prison, after serving four years, wants to be near her son that has been living with her parents. The boy feels badly because the rejection he perceives happened when his mother disappeared from his life. Angele must find an employment that will prove to the judge in charge of her case she is a reformed woman capable of regaining her son's custody.The only thing available for Angele is working as a fishmonger for Tony, the fisherman who works with his mother selling what he gets from the sea. Tony, a heavyset man, is a shy person, as it is obvious he is also afraid of being rejected by any woman he might decide to go after. Living and working with his mother, things become hard for the young Angele to overcome. After all, she has no experience.It is not hard to think that Tony wants to help Angele, even going against his better judgment and upsetting his own mother, but Angele is able to overcome her initial awkwardness and suddenly she gains Tony's mother trust, as well as his love, something that was hidden behind their outward acceptance of one another.Alix Delaporte got an ensemble atmosphere for his project. Clotilde Esme is lovely as Angele. Gregoire Gadebois, a member of the prestigious Comedy Francaise, makes an impression as Tony, the fisherman with a heart of gold. Evelyn Didi plays Myriam, Tony's mother. Claire Mathon's cinematography takes us along the Normandy coast to picturesque fishing villages and other places capturing the atmosphere of the area. Mathieu Maestracci contributed to the music score. M. Delaporte shows he is a natural for being behind the camera and one can only hope he will go far in his next venture.

My Filipino friend picks up the French movies, well nearly all the times French. Most of the time,including the four of us, we are only a dozen of people in the cinema. And now the time is right for the movie to start - here it comes, slow, with some unusual beauty, bestial beauty? It's too early to know - the main character seems aloof, troubled and things are a little strange, the story goes on still fairly slow...Is something going to happen? But soon our patience gets rewarded, this slow introduction starts to reveal the why and how. People interact, cautiously. I did get on the French news, here down under, that fishing as a profession suffered hardship with European quota imposition and I understand what is happening to this small community. It's nice to have some insight in what is going on, else it could be perceived as fabricated. But really here little is fabricated just narrated in a beautiful way in a beautiful but very real setting, yes with perhaps unlikely events but not impossible. What'll become of Angele and Tony? Well just like me you'll need to sit through to find out the right way, that is do not start with the last page or here reading comments with spoilers. That's right it would spoil it!