Take a Chance on Me

Louane and Michel Blanc carry this movie, the story itself is a bit dim and not very creative, loads of aspects are a bit far fetched and cliché like. But the energy between the two, just beautiful.

Le Havre adds to the partially depressing setting and let's the two actors shine even more

Definitely need to rewatch the french original version, the German dub was meh.

The problem with such films is not a bad story, but the author's understanding of the problems of "little" people. Being wealthy, the director thinks that all the poor hate the rich and blame them for all their troubles, but this is far from the case. The author is also far from reality and depicts modernity in a parallel world. Being so naive as to believe a recidivist at his word and let him go, creating even more problems for ordinary people, the author forgets that the security guards and salespeople in the store are just as ordinary people who are simply trying to earn a meager living without breaking the law. We already have an example when a criminal was released in the USA and he killed an innocent girl, but this is far from the only example. But this is just one example that shows that the director is far from human problems.

So we have another story about the poor, but far removed from reality.

Now this one is an interesting one. When I read the synopsis I thought that doesn't look so interesting but then I started watching it and quite frankly this is one of the best French films I have seen of recent times.

The interaction between the young actress Louane Emera and Michel Blanc is superb, like an unexpected tango of sorts.

The backdrop to the whole story is set in Le Havre, a city which looks about as enticing as a boil on someone's backside.

Maybe they picked out sections of the city which look less than glamorous or maybe the whole place is like that, no idea. But anyway it kind of added a dimension to the entire tale.

So what we have here is a story about social class and expectation and possibilities and the inability of one to see what happens in the other. The famous phrase, the other half and see how they live.

It could be also construed that this film is entirely designed to recruit people into the legal profession. Because it has got that in this as well, which is kind of weird. Never have I seen a film before promoting the legal profession as a good avenue for young working class people.

Anyway, it is mostly a human tale about an older guy and a younger woman dealing with their problems which are very different by design since they belong to a completely different stratum of society. And also have different pressure points in their lives. Very, very good. Very warm.

Makes you feel, at the end, like you have been treated to a tale of morality and positivity. Not often, you can say this at the end of a film these days.

Highly recommended.