Pauline & Paulette (2001)

As a rule Flemish-language films rarely make much of an international impact, but Pauline & Paulette is a refreshing exception. Director Lieven Debrauwer's debut is an affectionate coming-together of two sisters: the mentally restricted Pauline, living in a world of flowers and fantasy, and Paulette, her life occupied with lingerie and operetta. The story focuses on the exasperation of Pauline as she is shunted between provincial Belgium and Brussels and the realization of Paulette, having retired to the coast, that a sister in her life might not be a bad option after all. The interplay between veteran actresses Dora van der Groen and Ann Petersen is minutely observed in detail, with the remaining cast a triumph of ensemble acting, not least Rosemarie Bergmans as the sophisticated "other sister" Cecile and Idwig Stéphane as the pompous Albert. At just 72 minutes, the film is almost too taut for its own good, but if this was Debrauwer's way of avoiding the sentimental, so much the better. Witty and touching in equal measure, this is a film to savor. --Richard Whitehouse Amazon.com

Two great actresses collide and converge in PAULINE and PAULETTE

Any film viewer who cherishes a well done story and relishes delicious acting from two great actresses needs to take a long and hard look at PAULINE ET PAULETTE.Belgian veteran dames Dora van der Groen and Ann Petersen shared best actress award for this sensitive,comical and heart-wrenching story of two sisters,one who is mentally-challenged and one who is challenged-mentally.Pauline (van der Groen who has ANTONIA's LINE and VILLA des ROSES to her long credits) has the mental capacity of a child.When her caretaker dies,sister Paulette (Petersen) is forced to have Pauline stay with her.Pauline is an innocent who needs everything just her way;Paulette is also set in her ways as a lingerie shopkeeper and an amateur opera singer.Pauline, childlike, adores her older sister.Paulette cannot be bothered with the intruding annoyance of her simple-minded sister.Paulette packs Pauline off to live with their younger sister Cecile and her French boyfriend,but Pauline WANTS Paulette,so back she comes.The hilarity never lets up and the timing of two magnificent pros with a sharp and clever script clocking in at a perfect 73 minutes is irresistible as a supreme example of a film sharply focused,trimmed of excess fat and served up for a great viewing experience.

For those not familiar with Belgian film,PAULINE ET PAULETTE is a first rate introduction to the world of the European character-driven,actor par excellent movie.Along with films such as DAENS, ANTONIA'S LINE,THE OX,GOOD EVENING MR.WALLENBERG,ELLING,BLACK BOOK,CHARACTER and EMMA'S SHADOW Flemish cinema is the still, IMO ,undiscovered treasure of moviedom.Folks that enjoy reading will enjoy the well paced,character-filled screenplays of Belgian movies.

On VHS and DVD, PAULINE ET PAULETTE is a bargain for such rich entertainment.IT is in Flemish with very readable subtitles.(You won't even realize that it is foreign after a few minutes)
Great companion films that feature a pair of great acting jobs would be LADIES IN LAVENDER (Judi Dench and Maggie Smith),NOTES ON A SCANDAL (Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett) and IRIS (Judi Dench and Jim Broadbent).

October 6, 2007

Pauline and Paulette

Sensitive and humane, but never saccharine, Debrauwer's witty, touching portrait of four sisters avoids all the clichés one expects in depictions of mental disability. Groen (star of "Antonia's Line") is a marvel playing the childlike Paulette, a limited, sweet-natured woman whose capacities for understanding are greater than others suppose. Meanwhile Pauline and Cecile puzzle over how they can place her in an institution without losing their inheritance--a condition of Martha's will. With its wry, delicate observations of a family in crisis, "Pauline and Paulette" will stealthily win your heart. July 23, 2007

Pauline & Paulette

Flemish with English subtitles. No, I am not one of those art house snobs. I don't drink white wine, smoke Russian cigarettes or wear a black beret. I just happen to think this film is wonderful. The funniest situations in life don't come with a laugh track, and tragedy doesn't need syrupy sentimentality. I'm glad I didn't read the jacket before viewing, since it gives away most of the "plot." This movie is about character, style and substance as much as it is about plot, but still. Let me enjoy the surprises too, okay? This film could not be better than it is, and I'll watch it again.
August 28, 2006

The Perils of Pauline - and Paulette

PAULINE AND PAULETTE is a bittersweet little slice of life drama about four sisters, three of them senior citzens. The oldest sister Martha takes care of the mentally retarded sister, Pauline, while the two other sisters have gone on with their lives, the youngest sister Cecile having moved away Pauline doesn't even remember who she is. Pauline idolizes her somewhat indifferent sister Paulette who runs a small women's fashion shop and performs regularly in local amateur opera productions. Pauline in her limited mental capacity perhaps recognizes a kindred spirit: both sisters have a love of beauty, Pauline forever watering Martha's flowers and never without her scrapbook of pictures of flowers roughly torn out of magazines or from scraps of gift wrap, Paulette lives in a candy-box world with her rosy red boutique and her small home and it's womanly bric-a-brac, feminine furniture, and perfume. When Martha suddenly dies, the surviving sisters are forced to assist Pauline probably for the first time in their adult lives.

This Belgium movie was a popular title at film festivals when it was first released and among it's rewards was bringing two of the grande dames of Belgium cinema to international attention - Dora van der Groen as Pauline and Ann Petersen as Paulette, both of them about 73 when the film was released although playing sixty-something. van der Groen is amazing as the childlike Pauline but Petersen has many wonderful moments too as the prententious but not unfeeling Paulette. To me the film's most stunning moment is when the curtain comes down after Paulette's swan song at the operetta and she finds herself quite alone on the stage, her little dream world revealed for the plastic fantasy it was. This was sadly Petersen's final film, she passed away in 2003.

Director Lieven Debrauwer has a fine sense of human emotions and the movie is beautifully photographed, vividly capturing Paulette's gift-wrapped world and Pauline's austeure existance. The movie also sharply portrays the hostile unkindness the mentally-changed often face, here from a belittling butcher clerk and Cecile's self-centered boyfriend. The ending is perhaps unsatisfying to general American tastes with it's meloncholy, slightly unresolved ending but then the movie was not meant to be a Hallmark card. Director Debrauwer does a very good job in his first feature film, after several short subjects (three of them starring van der Groen and one regrets they are not here as bonus features on the DVD) and his commentary on the DVD is pleasant. I recommend this film to those who enjoy slightly sentimental films, you will certainly be moved. April 3, 2006

Two Sisters Living Together: Belgian Bitter-Sweet Tale

Very short Belgian film, by first-time director Lieven Debrauwer, 'Pauline & Paulette' may not be seen at your multiplex, but will appeal to the movie fans who prefer the 'bitter-sweet' tale. Thanks to the exceptional acting from the leading ladies, the film is lifted one notch higher than usual European dramas.

The plot is simple. You see the four sisters -- Martha, Paulette, Cecile, and Pauline. Pauline, who loves collecting beautiful paper and watering flowers, is mentally-handicapped, and is now living with Martha, who suddenly dies, leaving the instructions to the remaining sisters, Cecile and Paulette. That is, if they both refuse to take care of Pauline, all of her money goes to Pauline.

As a consequence, Paulette takes Pauline back to her house, where she also runs a small business. And so far, you know, the story development is not surprising. It seems at first going on the familiar road, to the tidy 'feel-good' conclusion, but in the second half, you see, it is not. The subdued ending at the cold seaside town is very memorable, one of the best part of the film.

The film's tone is always quiet, even low-keyed, and there's nothing you cannot predict in the film's story except the final reel which is very insightful. But what I liked about the film best is that it does not deny the possibility that Pauline's life could be fine if someone else, someone outside her family, takes care of her. Some films tend to treat the life in hospital in the negative light. In 'Pauline & Paulette' it is just another alternative way of life.

Beligian veteran actress (75-year-old) Dora Van Der Groen gives impressive acting as Pauline, who could be both very charming and irritating, and equally good is Ann Petersen as Paulette, who suddenly discovers her utter loneliness in an unexpected place. The film starts like a Hallmark entertainment (which I like very much, don't be mistaken), but ends with a slightly bitter taste, which reminds us that 'Pauline & Paulette' is an European film, after all. May 30, 2005

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