Lost in Paris (2016)

[Drunk Monk]

Our first Kanopy selection. It was a completely random selection - Stacy just picked it because she wanted to reminisce about Paris. It's a whimsical French comedy of errors. A Canadian woman goes on a quest to find her aunt who she hasn't seen since she was a child when her aunt moved to Paris. She loses everything immediately and by happenstance encounters a homeless guy. Existential French hilarity ensues. It's from a comedic film making team of Fiona Gordon (playing Fiona - a gawky awkward woman with great physical comedic chops) and Dominique Abel (playing Dom - a typical Frenchman, or maybe Belgian). Apparently that's their schtick, using their real names as their characters, writing, directing and acting in their films. I tried another one of theirs years ago The Fairy which I bailed on because I couldn't get the subs to work and I only realized it was the same team because I wiki-ed it.  Do you like French comedy? I'm not a fan of any French film. But this kinda worked for me, perhaps because my mental state is off due to the pandemic et.al. and I was susceptible to its absurdity.

No sword fights. Not DOOM recommended unless you're pining for Paris.

[Drunk Monk]

L'Iceberg (2005)

We fell in a hole...an abstract French comedy hole. And we regret it horribly. So delighted with last night's Kanopy selection, we thought we'd pursue Fiona & Dom. Big mistake. Gawddamn French. What is it with French film? Just because they have Cannes, they think they can make absurd films and call it 'art'? 

Fiona gets locked in the freezer at the fast food restaurant that she manages. Dom, her husband (named Julien) and their two kids don't notice her missing. She becomes obsessed with icebergs and runs away to Rene, a mute sailor, who was also part of the ensemble in the previous film as the neighbor obsessed with his lost sock. There's very little dialog, just lots of awkward scenes. Part of their schtick is silly dance numbers. Very French. Existential, random nudity, abstract scenes solely for the sake of abstraction.

No sword fights. Definitely not DOOM recommended.

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The Fairy (2011)

So disappointed we were with L'Iceberg, we thought we'd try The Fairy, which won some recognition at Cannes. I don't know what we were thinking. We should've stopped and gone with something completely different. Dom is a ne'er do well night clerk at a small hotel. Fiona is a fairy, come to grant him three wishes. Philippe Martz (sock dude/Rene Sailor) is a guest smuggling his dog in. There are two dance numbers, one under the sea, involving a giant clam, and another on the rooftop. More random nudity. More abstractivitiy. It sort of makes sense (Fiona is in looney bin) but then it doesn't (Fiona magically becomes pregnant - her belly inflates in minutes - then Jimmy (Martz's real life son) is born to add to the absurdity). 

No sword fights. Not DOOM recommended at all either. If you're going to see any Fiona & Dom flicks, Lost in Paris is the only one worth an hour and a half of your life.  

Feckin French film.