DELICACY: Audrey at the bat

As you probably know, I’m terribly fond of French flicks, and I’m blessed to live in a city that makes them so readily available. The last one we Webbers saw was The Hedgehog. It was back in the fall of last year, while I was on the big blog break, but if I’d been blogging then, I would have told you to go see it.

What’s great about so many French movies, Delicacy included, is that they delight in pointing out how weird people are. People are weird! Come watch! The ingenious film Micmacs, which I reviewed in 2010, was the same way. Of course, American art films often attempt to do the same thing, but it seems to me that they come out creepy instead of charming at least half the time. Lines are crossed; mistakes are made. But the French are masters of this game.

Of course the leading lady in Delicacy, played by Audrey Tautou, has her reasons for being weird. Nathalie is a long-grieving widow who is having a bit of trouble bouncing back. She’s beautiful, yes, but as fragile as a fresh croissant, and the situation calls for . . . delicacy. Who among her suitors has the wherewithal to fill such a tall order? No doubt the journey will be fraught with tears and missteps. But fear not! It will be tempered with tenderness and Pez.

This is my fifth Audrey Tautou movie, and I haven’t seen a bad one yet. Of course Amélie is still at the top of the list, and if you haven’t seen it, you probably need to stop and figure out why. (People are weird! Come watch!) But Delicacy seems like a natural step in the progression of Tautou’s career. She’s not a youngster anymore, playing pranks on her neighbors. She’s a grown woman, and it’s a pleasure to watch her take life on.

See the trailer for Delicacy here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VYx3faA1Y8