Le retour du héros [Return of the Hero] (Laurent Tirard, 2018)

[domino harvey]

She’s funny as the naive younger sister in Le retour du héros, which I thought was one of the best films of the year, but I don’t think it would be met with the rapturous response of this movie on the forum!

[therewillbeblus]

She’s funny as the naive younger sister in Le retour du héros, which I thought was one of the best films of the year, but I don’t think it would be met with the rapturous response of this movie on the forum!

Having just seen Le retour du héros I can confirm that Neomie Merlant is great in her very different role, and it’s refreshing to see such a versatility like this within the same year.

The film itself is terrific, almost serving as a polar opposite to Sciamma’s film, where not only are all these serious customs of the olden times (early 1800s here) actually welcomed - hilariously quickly, I should add - but they are satirized immediately,

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the plot moving so fast that after three minutes we’ve gone through enough material for a full VHS tape of half the ‘epic’ picture this is mocking (the meet n greet, courting, proposal, response - sans drawn out consideration, and actually agreed to before he can close his mouth - and problem inserting itself in the bad news of separation of would-be lovers by the threat of war).

The layered opening gag allows for movement into a more peculiar area as the real interest of the filmmaker emanates and the movie turns into a kind of manipulative game of social cons amongst the naive and complicit. Those who liked Mademoiselle de Joncquières should check this out as it’s an even more playful and unconventional take on a typically inflexible narrative.

[domino harvey]

I actually like this one more than the Mouret, though both expertly use the mores of the period to bolster their larger themes in ways a contemporary-set film could not. I love how this tackles a theme I’m fascinated with, identity, by having a surprisingly funny Melanie Laurent treat Jean Dujardin as a living novel, getting upset when he goes off-script in his own life. The idea of ownership of one’s self, even in a lie, is quite deeper and more thought-provoking than the hijinks obfuscate— I think there’s an unexpected resonance in the admittedly screwball set-up Laurent and Dujardin mire themselves within. One gets this sense this could have been adapted from a great comic novel long since forgotten. Also, the ending gag to this film is absolutely perfect.

[domino harvey]

Also, I just looked and you can rent this movie for all of 99¢ on Amazon (as Return of the Hero), if anyone wants to check it out

[therewillbeblus]

I think this bests the Mouret by quite a margin, though I really liked that film! I was especially taken by the complexity to the relationship between Laurent and Dujardin as the film progressed, and how a dynamic so twisted could grate itself bare to vulnerability in moments after vicious interplay, only to subvert the sentiment, but not shortchange the understanding we get of the characters or that they get of themselves and one another. I also loved the idea of how even the most selfish coward is capable of stepping outside oneself and acting courageously, and the unstated thesis that it is only when one forms a connection with another person- significantly one who is vastly different than themself- that they have the opportunity to challenge the comfort of their own solipsistic judgments or actions (which goes for both main characters) in favor of growth. This is nothing new as it’s the makeup of most screwball couplings, but what is unique is that socialization here is both the nightmare and the savior.

Which make your point on the acting as the director of one’s identity quite interesting and double-edged, for in the midst of this screwball structure that follows the satirical intro, the surprisingly warm moments, as well as the ones that place characters in real danger and disrupt their stable functioning, come from this same cloth as the comedy. Though despite growth and molding one’s identity through this warped and blurry intimate union, the second the pair separates all bets are off and we are reminded how quickly we can revert back to that original behavior (the end gag is the prime example but I’d wager this occurs every time they separate throughout the film, and sometimes when they get too close- which is a different kind of ‘separation’ in shifting the relationship dynamics to unbearable places just as they have become comfortable in their new phase). I appreciate how the filmmakers and by extension the characters understand the folly of human nature and also have enough respect for autonomy of identity to not even consider judgment and simply laugh at it. Better yet, the other half gets to do the same thing, which triggers a reassuring level of acceptance and direct alignment of perspective with the audience few films afford, refusing to split the viewer’s loyalty or complicate their emotional output- with only a relaxed stance in a single motive at the end: of permitting untainted joy.