Lost in Paris

12^th October 2016 9.00pm at Curzon Mayfair
15^th October 2016 6.30pm at Ciné Lumière

Lost in Paris is a charming tale of Fiona, a young Canadian librarian who, upon receiving a distressing letter from her aunt in Paris, travels to the City of Lights in order to find her. Once arrived, however, the woman is nowhere to be found, and Fiona manages to lose her luggage and travel documents. These happened to be retrieved by Dom, a Chaplin-esque vagabond, who fishes them out of the Seine river and inadvertently meets up with Fiona whilst spending her money on dinner at a riverside restaurant. He falls in love and takes it upon himself to help her locate her missing relative.

The film is the third from husband and wife directing duo Dominique Abel and Fiona Gordon, who also star as the two unlikely lovers. The result is a highly original ode to classic slapstick comedy, with the pair retaining their names – as in their previous two films The Fairy (2011) and Rumba (2008) – in the tradition of famous comedy teams of the past, such as Laurel and Hardy and the Marx brothers. The comedy here, though, is much more sincere, with none of the biting sarcasm of the mentioned Hollywood clown troupes. Exhibiting an artful flavour that lends it an attractive, fairy-tale air, the film is less physical – and funny – than, for example, Laurel and Hardy, seldom inspiring anything beyond a giggle. Still, such titters will probably be shared by both adults and children, as the film’s simple, fanciful story can be understood and enjoyed by all ages.

It features archetypal characters – not so much personalities in their own right but foils for the cartoonish situations in which they find themselves – photographed in a palette of wacky primary colours and a screenplay with only a few throw-away curse words and references to sex that remind one that the movie is less for the young than for the young at heart.

Lost in Paris is not a major piece of filmmaking, but it is wonderful to see that there is still an interest in the storytelling genres of classic cinema.

Mark Sempill

Lost in Paris does not have a UK release date yet.

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