A trip into the past tries to make sense of the current life for Camille, played by Noémie Lvovsky, a two-bit actress who has an anger and alcohol problem. In Camille Redouble, Lvovsky turns the clock back 25 years for her 40 year old Camille, in that while her physical appearance remain the same to us, it does not to her parents, peers and lovers as they see her in the skin of a 16-year-old.
Offering bits of comical scenes from the response of those around her to her demands for cigarettes and whiskey, the movie is at its peak during its depiction of perspective and the old adage that time brings the wisdom to tell apart the difference between things that can be changed and things that cannot be changed. Lvovsky brings a lively and fascinating energy to her role of Camille as she struggles to counter the inevitable screenplay that addresses both the past and the present.
The beginning of the movie gives us an insight as to how Camille’s life has hit rock bottom. Her one-day acting gig is a flop and her unfaithful husband, Eric (Samir Guesmi) is leaving her for his pregnant girlfriend. Two things prompt Camille to pay a visit to Monsieur Dupont (Jean-Pierre Léaud), a watchmaker who plays with time on New Year’s Eve. The two issues that he deals with act for key regrets, which Camille cannot wait to try to change and after a boisterous New Year’s Eve party, she finds herself transported back into her past
Lvovsky focuses on her time experimenting with peers in school and reliving everything she’s been through. During her journey back in the past, Camille tries to avoid her husband, then boyfriend Eric. It’s hilarious as she reacts adversely as she does everything she can to reject him and delete him out of her life. Apart from that, her efforts to make her mother have a CAT scan to prolong her life are just as futile. Later on in the movie, scenes involving Camille’s physic’s lecturer are nicely thought up, offering a successful springboard back into reality at the next New Year’s Eve party.
Though Camille Redouble may not bring anything special or new to the table when it comes to the past and present scenario, the movie has an original perspective and charm that will definitely appeal to its audience.
Camille Redouble is just one of the many well-praised films from the French Film Festival 2014 lineup. Tickets can be bought at GSC Mid Valley from now till 1st June.
