The Singer (Quand J'étais Chanteur) - Review
Review by Gerald Levy
THE Singer is French, warm and sentimental. The romantic lead, Alain, is played by a good-hearted almost-senior citizen, Gérard Depardieu, who frequently bursts into song, either on stage or about the house.
For fans of Depardieu, and there are tens of millions of them in France – he currently has nine films in various stages of production – this is a wonderful film. Not only is he on the screen for most of the time, and exhibits a kind and easygoing nature, but he sings in a pleasant old-style crooner’s way that we have not heard that much of for about 50 years.
And he sings well – at a lot of little dances and discotheques in the Massif Central, full of folks of all ages, but mainly 70+ and single, dancing the Madison, listening to the accordion, and buying tickets for the tombola.
Minor though he is, he has a following; women come up and beg him for his autograph. But he is alone and not very happy, living in a farmhouse with a little goat for company, and eating the wrong things.
One night, he meets the heroine Marion (played by Cécile de France, a rising Belgian actress). She plays a young separated-but-not-entirely-alone woman, blonde hair gamin cut, on bad terms with her child, a touch pathetic and inadequate, and, what’s more, rather short of good lines.
There are only about 30 years between them and he woos her with flattery and champagne. They hit it off immediately, although only for a night, and then they drift apart.
But when, just before the end, it seems to be all over, great Mills and Boon engines chip in and the world, or at least the Massif Central, seems a better place.
(In French, with subtitles)
Certificate: 12A
Running time: 112mins