Paris pieds nus (2016)

Directed by: Dominique Abel, Fiona Gordon | 81 minutes | comedy | Actors: Fiona Gordon, Dominique Abel, Emmanuelle Riva, Pierre Richard, Emmy Boissard Paumelle, Céline Laurentie, Charlotte Dubery, David Palatino, Frédéric Meert, Guillaume Delvingt, Philippe Martz

Paris, barefoot. That is the title of the latest film by director duo Dominique Abel and Fiona Gordon, who also play the leading roles themselves. ‘Paris pieds nus’ tells the story of three characters: Fiona, Dom and Martha. Fiona is Martha’s niece and she stayed behind in Canada after Aunt Martha left for Paris. One day Fiona receives a letter from Martha, found in a garbage can, in which Martha tells that she should leave her house to live in a retirement home. This is reason for Fiona to realize her long-cherished wish to go to Paris one day. Once in Paris, she cannot find her aunt and loses all her belongings. These items eventually end up with drifter Dom and from then on the lives of the three begin to intertwine.

Dominique Abel and Fiona Gordon are originally clowns and that is clearly reflected in ‘Paris pieds nus’. It’s quite a slightly surreal film. The characters are strange and also in a physical sense they behave differently. That physicality is especially apparent in the first meeting between Dom and Fiona. They get to know each other while dancing and that dancing shows their clownish qualities well. Physical interaction also plays a major role in a single scene of Martha.

‘Paris pieds nus’ is best described as a comedy that relies on strange situations and behaviour. That sometimes works and sometimes it doesn’t. There is an imbalance between the absurd story on the one hand and the downright strange characters on the other. And that makes an already special film less accessible.

The question that remains is whether it is fun to watch. That is usually the case. The characters are unpredictable due to their “otherness” and that keeps you captivated as a viewer. In addition, some scenes are very funny, culminating in Dom’s speech at a funeral. It takes a bit of getting used to the characters in the beginning, but once you get over that, there is an entertaining yet somewhat strange film.