Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Cast: Romain Duris, Audrey Tautou, Gad Elmaleh, Aïssa Maïga, Omar Sy, Charlotte Le Bon, Sacha Bourdo, Natacha Régnier, Philippe Torreton, Alain Chabat, Zinedine Soualem, Marina Rozenman, Mathieu Paulus, Frédéric Saurel, Wilfred Benaïche, Alex Raul Barrios, Kid Creole, Paul Gondry, Bobby Few, Tilly Scott Pedersen, Jérôme Coué, David Bolling.
Only somebody perhaps as good as Michael Gondry could produce a film so tender, so utterly charming, so clever and ever so slightly and brilliantly bizarre and pretentious as Mood Indigo and get away with it. A film that is so charming and clever and yet at its very heart is a piece of cinema that deals with death and the loss of idealism, nobody else surely would have the cinematic balls to do it without being locked away first.
Colin is a very comfortably well off man, he loves his Jazz, especially Duke Ellington, his lawyer is also his personal chef and his best friend is a fanatic on the works and teachings of Jean-Sol Partre, (a corruption of Jean-Paul Sartre) but one thing is missing from his life, somebody to share in all his weird and wonderful goings on-somebody who will appreciate fully his invention of the Pianocktail and who will add more colour to his life than ever before. Then along comes Chloé and everything is enhanced and chillingly surreal than before until a small water lily infects Chloé’s lungs.
Romain Duris and the ever enchanting Audrey Tautoe give such wonderful performances as the young, ever so slightly bonkers couple that the viewer is somehow taken along their journey which is filled with hope and promise and doesn’t bat an eye-lid when tragedy and misfortune strikes at the very core of their lives. Such is the abundance of entertaining and prolific layering to the film that the lives of Colin and Chloé can almost be seen as secondary to the overall messages that keeps knocking at the film door. If the film is not suggesting about the difference between real poverty and wealth and perceived monetary value then it harks gently at the fear of failure, that only the inspired have meaningful lives. Such surrealism and intense metaphors you can only really expect from French Cinema and Romain Duris, Audrey Tautou, Gad Elmalch, Aïssa Maïga and Omar Sy carry it off as near perfectly as they can.
In many cases, unless you are a true fan of foreign language films, the dialogue and the plot can become a tedious, almost catastrophic affair and yet Mood Indigo is a real delight to watch. You feel for every character and the downward spiral that is afflicted upon them and their final outlook on life.
This may not be Michael Gondry’s best cinema graphic effort but it is a tremendously good story told with great dedication and style. Mood Indigo is a joy to behold!
Ian D. Hall