ARTHOUSE cinemas in Perth are hosting a 54-film line up to mark the 30th anniversary of the Alliance Francaise French Film Festival across Australia.
There are 12 categories of new releases and featured in the Lighten Up section is the saucy romp Dumped (Larguees), about break-up and dating after 60 from director Eloise Lang.
Standout moments in the mum-daughter comedy are one-liners delivered like slingshots by booze-guzzling wild child Rose (Camille Cottin) at her priggish sibling Alice (Camille Chamoux).
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READ NOWThe sisters chaperon their newly dumped mother Francoise (Miou-Miou) to the tropical island of La Reunion for her 60th birthday, but with the hidden agenda of ‘saving mum’ from herself.
Wife cast aside for a younger model may seem like a well-worn line, but Dumped takes an unexpected twist early in the piece to make this award nominated film worthwhile.
Along with the laughter lines are messages about love, loss and the fallout of abandonment.
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Cottin and Chamoux also play for laughs in the rom-com Our Happy Holiday (Premieres Vacances) co-written by Chamoux and directed by Patrick Cassir.
With contemporary dating at the forefront, a matchmaking app brings together 30-somethings Marion (Chamoux) and Ben (Jonathan Cohen).
The couple embark on an adventurous holiday together in Bulgaria after their first date.
As the mismatched couple negotiate the landscape of a new relationship in an unknown territory, there are the inevitable and sometimes predictable mishaps along the way.
Chamoux is delightful as the carefree Marion in search of a lifelong partner but sadly as her rapport with Ben begins to falter, so does the storyline.
THE ESSENTIALS
What: French Film Festival
Where: Palace & Luna Palace Cinemas
When: Until April 10
Tickets: www.affrenchfilmfestival.org
Review: Lynn Grierson