Fool Circle (2014) Poster

(2014)

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Looping back to life again
sesht19 February 2015
Warning: Spoilers
First and foremost, no idea why the English translation is this moronic (of the title - and is it actually clever? I wonder). Its painfully obvious what the difference is, between what a sadness club indicates, and what a fools' club does. in spite of that, someone, in their utmost stupidity, has translated this to mean 'Fools' circle' (without the appropriately placed ', I might add).

Having said that, I had not heard of this flick, except in the context of it being the final movie screening as a part of 2015's myFrenchFilmFestival.com screenings of full-length features. I was still disappointed the organizers chose not to finish the interrupted screening of 'Eastern boys', and almost was not motivated to watch this one, but curiosity won out.

The only actor, in this case, actress, that I recognised was Ludivine Sagnier, from 'Swimming Pool', 'Paris Je t'aime', 'Mesrine', 'La fille coupée en deux' and 'Crime d'amour'.

It almost has vibes of 'This is where I leave you', 'The Judge' (to a lesser extent, obviously) and 'Junebug', to the extent that it involves dysfunctional family members forced to interact with one another due to a shared 'event', so to speak. Keeping the setup as such, this one packs a few twists in its narrative, that are not as obvious to non-seasoned movie-goers, while also giving most of us a chance to savor each of those surprises.

I did have a few questions in my head that remained unanswered, but perhaps that was the intent of the young filmmaker whose work was being showcased as a part of this fest.

It also turns stereotypes on their head, after we have conveniently assigned a type to each of the characters playing their parts, so to speak.

At its conclusion, the sense of irony is unmistakable, almost like a circle of life being played out, albeit with fewer, and maybe even lesser, 'types'.

Worth a watch at the local festival dwelling, and, in a few lucky regions, on halfticket.TV.
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8/10
a very nice French bitter-sweet comedy
wvisser-leusden26 October 2014
'Tristesse club' (= French for 'Sadness club') makes one of these comedies the French excel in. Dealing with a serious subject in a light-hearted way, leaving you with a nice aftertaste. It feels like you just enjoyed a glass of high-quality French wine.

Firmly placed in our present 2014-world, this film's convincing plot is carried on very well by its three leads: Ludivine Sagnier, Vincent Macaigne and in particular Laurent Lafitte. Its shooting is adequate, supporting a story with some surprising twists and turns.

All in all, 'Tristesse club' provides you with a pleasant watch. Makes you feel that you are part of the scene, and leaves you anxious about its ending all the way through.
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