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Men In Black 3

It’s not a sequel that needed to be made, but thanks to the charm of its leads and a tone that harks back to the wit and humour of the original, it’s a pretty enjoyable trip.

Bel Ami

The excellent female support cast saves this patchy effort, which is let down by its leading man and a flat screenplay.

The Dictator

A disappointing, often repulsive and mean-spirited mess of a film with seemingly only one real criterion on its agenda: to shock and offend.

The Woman In Black

Packed with atmosphere, this old-fashioned but deftly told ghost story delivers ample chills and thrills.

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Copacabana (Film)

by Alicia Malone | November 22, 2010 14:13 | Edited November 22, 2010 14:14

Despite its sluggish pace and convenient ending, the two lead actresses – who are mother and daughter in real life – work well together onscreen.

French star Isabelle Huppert shares the screen with her real life daughter in this charming, yet sluggish, film about families and staying true to who you are.

 

Huppert plays the free spirited Babou, whose quirky nature is a constant source of embarrassment to her conservative daughter, Esmeralda (played by Huppert's own offspring, Lolita Chammah). Babou's fiery temperament often gets her into trouble, but she enjoys her bohemian lifestyle, cheekily poking fun at the "bourgeois" around her. After Esmeralda breaks the news to her mother that she is not allowed to come to her wedding, Babou decides to give up her impermanent lifestyle to prove that she can be serious, taking a boring job selling time-share apartments in a Belgian seaside town. Her friendly nature sees Babou get good advice from locals about selling to tourists, and to everyone's surprise, she becomes a successful employee at the company, though Esmeralda is wary that her mother may not keep it up.

 

The pace of Copacabana is slow, as the film meanders through its scant plot towards a conclusion that feels too convenient and neat. Its 107 minutes feels a lot longer, and could have benefited from extra editing to lift the more leaden moments.

 

But the film is saved by Isabelle Huppert, who makes Babou a funny character that audiences will love to cheer on. Her crazy antics and colourful outfits are irritating at first, but slowly become charming as the movie wears on. Huppert and daughter Chammah work well together onscreen, with their real life closeness shining through, despite their characters' differences.

 

Mothers around the world will likely enjoy Copacabana, and will certainly be able to relate to the film's canny depiction of the way that relationships between parents and children change over the years, and how it's important to hold onto your own spirit throughout.