Une hirondelle a fait le printemps (2001) Reviews

• Young Mathilde Had A Farm

  writers_reign2004-08-09

  It's formulaic, of course, but the trick with formulas is to act as if they're NOT formulaic and play it as if it were the most original story that ever came down the Pike. And that's what we get here, a charming, dazzling and ultimately Moving film that explores as if for the first time age-old concerns. Serrault has been here before in Nelly and Monsieur Arnaud so this is a good time to deal with the six degrees of separation aspect. In 'Nelly' Serrault was the older man and Manu Beart the younger woman; in Manon des Source Manu Beart tended goats and here Mathilde Seigneur does the same thing. So much for trivia. They really put more than the usual five minutes thought into this one because the credits come up over breathtaking aeriel shots of the Vercours and you can see why so many English people are inspired to buy second homes in France or even move there entirely. This is reinforced when in the first sequence we cut to Sandrine (Seigneur) caught up in a traffic jam in Paris and looking thoughtfully at a travel poster of Vercours on a bus in front of her. This is economical storytelling and in the very next scene she is telling her mother of her decision to move to the Vercours - in the Rhone Alps - and become a goat-farmer. The mother can't understand, natch, why a girl born and bred in Paris and a successful computer instructor would want to give it all up to become a sort of recluse about town. So we get the argument out of the way in the first reel. Sandrine is a gifted student, one of the best in Agricultural school and soon she is ready to invest 450,000 Francs in a remote goat farm. The farm belongs to old Adrien (Michel Serrault) and he comes with it, at least til he can move into his new flat in Grenoble some 18 months away. We are now ready for the classic battle of Old versus New, Young versus Old, initial antagonism giving way to mutual affection. Like I said, we've seen it all before. But what we HAVEN'T seen before is two Class Acts like Serrault and Seigneur and what they serve up is pure DELIGHT. We are spared nothing, this isn't a Travelogue because after an idyllic Summer comes the Winter of Discontent, so bad that Seigneur seriously considers throwing in the towel. Essentially a two-hander that stands or falls by the the quality of the two pricipals it is also fleshed out with really strong support in the shape of Adrien's neighbor and contemporary, Sandrine's colleague from Paris and sometime lover, and her mother. This is the kind of movie that Hollywood has completely forgotten how to make and which the accountants who run the place wouldn't sanction anyway. Thank God the French and other European countries can still turn them out like this. 10/10

• The farm

  jotix1002006-11-05

  Sandrine, a Parisian young woman who works in computers, has had it! She announces to her mother that after taken the course in agriculture she is going to buy a farm and leave Paris. The training she must undergo is not for the feint hearted, or people with weak stomachs. The graduates must know all there is to know in order to run a successful business under hard conditions. The farm Sandrine sets her eyes on is owned by Adrien, a lonely man of a certain age who has had it. He plans to move with his relatives in Grenoble. The farm he owned and worked all his life is in the Rhone-Alpes region of France. Situated on a picturesque spot in that area, Sandrine buys it and begins to transform the place. Adrien's only condition is that he wants to stay in his own house for the next eighteen months. Sandrine, who wants to get the farm, agrees. It becomes clear from the start Adrien doesn't think much of Sandrine's methods. Being computer savvy, she begins to sell her goat cheeses in the Internet. She also takes in guests in the modern barn she transformed. Sandrine also doesn't quite like the old man because she perceives how much he doesn't approve of her changes to his farm. Adrien, who begins to warm up to the girl, makes the first move to annoy Sandrine by doing something to the electricity. That sends her to ask his help in letting her stay with him as it has snowed heavily and her place is freezing. Adrien begins to relax around the young woman as he lets her know about himself and the life he and his wife had together in the farm. Little by little, both come together and form a bond that will not be broken because both learn to care for the other one. Christian Carion directed this tale about two lonely souls that are much alike, but live in separate worlds. The film is sympathetic to the young woman who decides to pack her glamorous job and make a living on her own in another field. The great asset the director had was the casting of Mathilde Seigner and veteran actor Michel Serrault, who must have suffered an accident, judging by the way his face looks. Both actors give naturalistic performances that warm the viewer's heart as they discover how alike they both are. Jean-Paul Roussillon and Frederic Pierrot appear in supporting roles. Mr. Carion made a life affirming movie that will delight audiences that discover it.

• Margarine, aka Bull Butter

  ferguson-62003-06-11

  Greetings again from the darkness. Wonderful, subtle French film that displays the nuances of quiet desperation of the young and fear of loneliness and death of the elderly. Make no mistake, the venerable Michel Serrault MAKES this movie! He is downright remarkable as Adrien, the long time farmer, who sells is farm to the young city girl played well by Mathilde Seigner. Many excellent scenes including awkward moments for all. The ridiculous comments about cruelty to animals during the filming is not worthy of mention. This is a fact of life on a farm and obviously the cow scenes were real life - not created for the film. The pig scene, may be painful to watch, but effectively makes the point of life and death on a farm - just like the goat birth scene. As far as the rabbit, give me a break, we see a live bunny and then one being prepared for dinner. This can happen in any restaurant on a daily basis. Yes the hang glider was a bit too much, too often, but I loved the Volvo, the Weimeramer and the "dumb" goat. Very personal film with much insight into human nature at all ages.

• a film you have to see with your heart, as well as with your eyes

  solarium2002-12-17

  a slow tempo movie, with no big scenes, no breathtaking special effects, just a small number of actors and the peaceful scenery of the French alps that touch the heart. all these are the background of the slow development of the relationship between the 2 main characters of the story. Sandrine, a young Parisian woman, who decided to leave the big city and buy a farm at the French alps. Adrian is the old owner of the farm, who remained living at the farm after the sale, but at first, refuses to help Sandrine and guide her. the peaceful yet cruel nature is the background of the mutual process that the two characters experience. the old man and the young woman who learn to accept each other and even like each other very much.

• A Warm Touching Story of Dreams and Realities

  gradyharp2006-11-04

  'Une hirondelle a fait le printemps' ('The Girl from Paris') weaves its French spell in the manner of the great French filmmakers, and yet this 2001 film was the debut of the man - Christian Carion - who later gave us the tremendously well-done 'Joyeux Noël' in 2005. This story (written by both Carion and Eric Assous) is unique, a study of human desires, needs, and compromises that is more human in feeling than most any other film this reviewer has seen. Sandrine Dumez (Mathilde Seigner) lives in Paris where she slaves away at teaching computer science to students in tune with the age. She is attractive, successful, popular...and unhappy. She longs to fulfill the dreams of her childhood and become a farmer. Much against her doting mother's advice she enrolls in a school for agriculture and eventually graduates as one of the top students, winning the ability to buy a farm in the Rhone Alps. The snag: the elderly crusty owner Adrien (Michel Serrault), who wants to sell his farm yet maintain his idyllic country existence without the wear and tear of farming, refuses to move off his own property once the contract is signed for Sandrine to take over the land. Sandrine allows Adrien to stay, makes the farm not only succeed despite her novice status, but also adds a hotel ('The Balcony of the Sky') to enhance her income from her goat farm whose chief product is cheese. Encouraging the transition is the jovial neighbor Jean (Jean-Paul Roussillon) whose recent selling of his own farm allows him to travel around in his new Volvo with his trusty (and hilarious) dog Pharaoh. Jean warns Sandrine that when winter come Adrien will become a recluse (remembering the loss of his wife, the Nazi decimation of the French farms, his losses from mad cow disease in the past, etc), yet Sandrine persists - until the winter comes and all but defeats her optimism. Events bond Adrien and Sandrine more closely, so much so that when Sandrine returns to Paris for a much-needed breather - and liaison with her ex-boyfriend Gérard (Frédéric Pierrot) - Adrien discovers how important to him Sandrine has become. The ending is tied into a surprise that touchingly resolves many doubts and questions and allows the viewer to finish the story on his own! The cast is superb, with special kudos to Michel Serrault, a consummate actor. The cinematography of the glorious farm location is by Antoine Héberlé and the very French musical score is by Philippe Rombi. The film is a delight in every aspect and one that deserves repeated viewings. Grady Harp