Changement d'adresse (2006)
Directed by Emmanuel Mouret

Film Review

With his first two features - Laissons Lucie faire (2000) and Vénus et Fleur (2004) - writer-director Emmanuel Mouret has already started to carve out a respectable niche for himself in the romantic-comedy line, and he continues happily in this vein with his equally enjoyable third feature, Changement d'adresse.  In common with Woody Allen, the director whose work his own offerings resemble, Mouret not only scripts and directs his films, he also takes the principal role, showing a remarkable flair for comedy as he does so.  There's more than a touch of Marivaux mischief to Mouret's cinema, particularly in his ingenious word play and the ways his characters reveal their deeper feelings through situations that tend to the absurd.

Changement d'adresse is Mouret's most sophisticated comedy so far, not only funnier than what has preceded it, but more thoughtful and truer in its observation of human relationships and human needs.  Mouret not only shows signs of increasing maturity in his writing, but also greater confidence in his direction, but there is also still a very welcome freshness to his art, so that whilst the situations he confronts us with are familiar, the originality of his observations and sharpness of his wit invariably take us by surprise.

Much of the charm of this film lies in the understated performances from Mouret and his three co-stars, Frédérique Bel, Fanny Valette and Dany Brillant.  It is a terrific ensemble which makes the most of Mouret's great script, bringing not just a seemingly endless series of smiles and laughs, but also a sense of realism and genuine poignancy - albeit from beneath a thin veil of quirky absurdity.  Changement d'adresse is easily one of the most satisfying French film comedies in recent years.  Through his unpretentious but idiosyncratic brand of cinema, Emmanuel Mouret is emerging as one of France's most likeable auteur filmmakers.

Film Synopsis

David, a young musician, arrives in Paris hoping to start a new and exciting chapter in his life.  First he needs somewhere to stay and it is indeed providential that he should happen to run into someone who not only has a flat to share but also is a music lover.  Anne is the person in question, and she makes it clear that her friendship with David must remain strictly platonic, as she already has a man in her life.  To earn his keep, David begins giving music lessons, but all too soon he manages to fall head over heels in love with one of his students, a somewhat introverted girl named Julia.  Lacking the confidence to make Julia aware of his feelings for her, David turns to Anne for advice.  She suggests they should take a holiday by the coast.  This David does but the plan goes seriously awry when Julia falls for another man...