After You (2003)

Gripping story with well-crafted characters

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

This is a sly, thoughtful and honest, rewarding romantic comedy done French style. It is the story of a lovelorn Parisian named Louis (Jose Garcia) whose hurt over his rejection by his love Blanche (the graceful, elegant Sandrine Kiberlain) has prompted him to attempt to take his own life. Fate intervenes, however, and a good Samaritan in the form of nice guy maitre d' Antoine (Daniel Auteuil) prevents the success of the suicide attempt. Antoine feels pain for Louis and takes him in, offering him a place to stay, attempting to boost his spirits, find him a job, and re-integrate him into society in an effort to re-habilitate him. The search for a job is short and mad-cap. The restaurant where Autueil is maitre d' is a high-end restaurant called Chez Jean and they are looking for a sommelier. Louis is set up to succeed in the interview and hilarity ensues. However, obviously, the greatest harm done to Louis was the hurt done to his heart by the break-up. It turns out, via one of the daffiest, wildest scenes you're likely to see, that Blanche did not dislike Louis and that outside factors undid the bond between the two ('nuff said). Wackiness, and heartache, ensues, once Antoine ventures to try to put his new friend back together with the lovely Blanche. He finds himself fighting his own desire to pursue her. This large-scale effort to help Louis put his life back in order obviously puts a strain on Antoine's relationship with his girlfriend, the reasonable, but not unreasonably long-suffering Christine (the capable Marilyn Canto). Obviously the crux of the film is Antoine's loyalty to his girlfriend, his ability to restrain his affection for Blanche, and thereby, his fealty to his friend Louis. The resolution of the film is fair; it is complicated but while perhaps it is not the optimum result for all parties, how often does this happen in life? The film seems to me largely plausible which is always satisfying; I can suspend my disbelief for a brief period of time, but if a film really wishes to simulate reality, it should not test this suspension of disbelief too much. Perhaps the only, or certainly by far the most, unrealistic part of the film was Louis sudden success as a sommelier after a very undistinguished start. Given such ineptitude from the outset, it seems unlikely he would have been kept on, and certainly would not have become as well trusted as he eventually became. That said, the vast majority of the characters and the plot development seems quite reasonable. The performances, Louis' neuroticism, Antoine's desire to be an everyman, and Blanche's well-disguised insecurities, are revealed well. This is a grown-up, satisfying, bittersweet, romantic comedy that.....gasp, even men (and certainly this one did) might like.

Remember that Owen Wilson movie You, Me And Dupree that came out a couple of summers ago where a bloke moves in with a young couple and inadvertently ruins their lives? Well, imagine if instead of a laid back surf slacker he was a depressed and desperate man on the verge of killing himself and you'd have something similar to Apres Vous, where a simple good deed leads to all manner of disasters.It begins when Antoine (Daniel Auteuil), an over-worked head waiter at an exclusive restaurant takes a short cut through a park on the way to meet his long-suffering girlfriend. Along the way, he comes across Louis (Jose Garcia) attempting to hang himself from a tree and promptly rescues him. Taking pity on him, Antoine invites Louis to stay with him and his girlfriend for a while until he can get back on his feet. This act of kindness however inadvertently opens the door for all sorts of social disasters, especially when Antoine takes it upon himself to reconcile Louis with his ex-girlfriend Blanche...The result is one incredibly funny, if occasionally rather sad film. As Louis and Antoine blunder from one mishap to another the laughs come thick and fast, not least of all when they give Louis's blind grandmother a lift in Antoine's car without her knowing her grandson is on the back seat, but the comedy is also finely balanced by a dose of sentimentality. Thankfully, it's not heavy handed, but sometimes when Louis is wandering around with sadness etched on his features it's hard not to feel sorry for him. It pays off though, his transformation from a rather pathetic little boy into the cool, confident and professional restaurant wine expert is incredibly uplifting and should raise a smile to even the most hardened cynic's face.The star of the film though is definitely Antoine. Daniel Auteuil's performance is nothing short of spot on, imbuing his character with a mixture of everyday charm and a tendency to blunder into cack-handed stupidity. As events pile up on him in a Basil-Fawlty style string of calamity, his good nature and enthusiasm make him a very likable comic hero indeed.Fans of screwball comedy then will be in hog's heaven. It may be geared more towards those who understand the French sense of humour, but fans of Fawlty Towers, Meet the Parents/Fockers and Cary Grant's farcical romps from the 1940s should find plenty to keep them entertained.

Antoine, the head waiter of Chez Jean, an upscale restaurant in Paris, chances upon a man that is preparing to hang himself from a tree, one night he is trying to meet his girlfriend by cutting across a park. Well, the only thing for him to do, since he is a good guy, is to go and save the man's life. In saving the man, Antoine goes into extremes in order to give this man, a second chance in life, but at the same time he is taking on much more than what he bargained for.Pierre Salvadori's comedy could be considered a black one, or at least, in that genre. Mr. Salvadori seems to be telling us to watch out for those people that will soak up all our energy and good will as they will never be able to repay us for the kindness we extended to them in their hour of need, or so it appears to be the case with this idiotic Louis, the man that Antoine saved.In the process of trying to do good, Antoine discovers that Louis had been dejected after his girlfriend, the beautiful Blanche, has told him to pack his things up because she's had it with him! That's the reason for his trying to do himself in. Antoine, is kindness personified. He is an atypical Parisian man with a heart of gold and deep pockets to help the nebbish Louis, who obviously doesn't seem to have a clue about what to do with his life. In the process Antoine falls in love for Blanche.On the last sequence of the film we see Blanche and Antoine being reunited at the Thai restaurant they like, and a suddenly normal Louis is outside, realizes that Antoine has stolen his woman, We see Antone's car demolished by Louis. In a touch of Gallic sophistication, the head waiter presents the couple a bottle of expensive champagne sent by Louis, so they can celebrate their love.Daniel Auteuil's Antoine is perfect. One of the best things we have seen this actor lately. Sandrine Kilberlain is an elegant Blanche. Jose Garcia is the goofy Louis. Marilyne Canto and Michele Moretti, are seen in minor roles.This is a comedy that Hollywood would probably try to re interpret in the not too distant future. It has the right elements, but remains basically a delicious French comedy that one hopes is not duplicated by the American cinema.

"Après vous..." is a gentle, screwball cross between "Cyrano" and "Down and Out in Beverly Hills," or, more accurately probably, its French progenitor "Boudu sauvé des eaux." Daniel Auteuil very expressively plays a much put upon Good Samaritan, whose life and identity get more and more entangled with the object of his personal philanthropy. While the employment and romantic lengths that he goes to in helping his hapless beneficiary, who shares some foibles with TV's Monk, stretch believability, he is very amusing and certainly the viewer gets as caught up as he is in the ensuing complications, even if they do seem a bit endless.One of its charms is that all the characters have saving graces. Unlike similar American movies, characters who are in the way of the inevitable are not shrill and the screenplay, co-written by director Pierre Salvadori, is not mean or condescending to them, as there is equal poignancy and laughter.There may be additional jokes about French restaurants and cuisine that lose something in the U.S. as this is almost as much a restaurant movie as "Dinner Rush" or "Big Night." The English subtitles, when they are not white on white, have poor grammar and spelling, including inconsistency of a character's name.The repeating amusing sounding pop tunes on the soundtrack seem to have some significance, but the lyrics are not translated.