Dir/Wri: Robert Guedequian | France, Drama 104′
Robert Guediguian is mellowing in his dotage and this latest drama The Thieving Magpie is one of his most enjoyable to date. Gone are the angry trade unions and syndicats of Snows of Kilimanjaro (2011) et La ville est tranquille (2000)- this family romcom is more akin to Gloria Mundi and The Party Goes On and On. The only petty crime get a light-hearted brush-over. This time Guedequian explores the give and take of domestic arrangements in the close-knit community of L’Estaque.
Infused with the luxuriant warmth of the Mediterranean and basking in his beloved Marseilles, it stars the usual cast of wife Arianne Ascaride, Jean-Pierre Darroussin Gerard Meylan, and Jacques Boudet in his swansong. A parable about reciprocity and inter-generational discontent La Pie Voleuse is pithy with a satisfying bite and a touch of French magic thrown in for good measure. All co-scripted, as usual, by Serge Valetti.
Struggling housewife Maria (Ascaride) makes a bit on the side as a cleaner for her elderly clients: comfortably off, they don’t miss the odd tenner disappearing from the kitty. On the contrary Maria’s daily visits are much in demand: lonely widower Robert Moreau (Daroussin) loves her chitchat and freshly cooked lunches, and dear old Madame Kalbiak relies of her kindness to look after the dog.
Tired of her husband’s gambling, Maria has turned her attention to her grandson Nicolas, a talented pianist. And the little bits of money she squirrels away from her clients are financing the young boy’s piano lessons, behind his mother, Jennifer’s, back (Marilou Aussilioux).
But the scorpion in the woodpile is Robert’s son Laurent (Gregoire Leprince-Ringuet) who is short of cash. Desperate for his father to downsize and leave him some dosh, Laurent is furious to discover that someone else is benefitting from Robert’s spare cash, upsetting the status quo in this sunny corner of France. @MeredithTaylor
IN CINEMAS IN FRANCE