Directed by Emmanuel Mouret
I know many people will be pleased that the Lotterywest Perth Festival is with us again. In Somerville’s first film for the season, Jean-Jacques (Emmanuel Mouret) and his girlfriend Ariane (Frederique Bel) decide to be a “powerfully progressive couple†after Jean-Jacques accidentally propositions another woman. This is because, if one is to believe French films, impossibly beautiful women continually throw themselves at very ordinary men in France. And having sex seems as uncomplicated as drinking a café latte. But even before Jean-Jacques sets out on his adventure of infidelity it is quite obvious that this slapstick comedy is going to have many misadventures.
The other woman turns out to be the president’s daughter who just happens to have lost her pet snake. Many of the gags will be familiar, with a slight French twist to them. Please Please Me screens with an Australian short film Love Like You’ve Never Been Hurt and runs from 30 November to 6 December at Somerville Auditorium (UWA) and 7-20 December at Joondalup Pines (ECU). Best enjoyed with a picnic and a bottle of wine shared with friends.
The opening film for Joondalup Pines is Stone of Destiny, a film based on the true story of a stone which was stolen from Scotland in 1296 and served as a coronation stone for the kings and queens of England for centuries. In 1950, an Edinburgh college student hatches a daring plan to steal the stone from Westminster Abbey after a petition of Scottish home rule is rejected by British Parliament. The idea was to symbolically avenge the historic theft and further the cause of Scottish nationalism. Great ideas don’t always go to plan and there are many obstacles to overcome to reclaim some patriotic pride. See perthfestival.com.au for film details, booking information and start times.
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